Metro Cover
by cgaussie01
Summary: Complete! AU. Follows the trials and tribulations of Roxanne, a new office worker to Metro Cover where she meets Megamind, Minion, Metro Man, Hal and even Bernard in this romantic comedy escapade. Sexual content of both types!
1. Chapter 1

Roxanne stood before the towering building with some apprehension. It was twenty storeys all, and black as night. Despite getting through her job interview seamlessly, she couldn't help but shake that nervous feeling that everybody encountered when they were about to begin work at a new company. Having grown sick of her last job ou in the middle of nowhere, Roxanne Ritchi had packed up all of her belongings, bought a one way ticket out of there, and arrived in the big city.

Metro City was very, very big. Far bigger than she thought it would be. But still, she had made her bed and was going to sleep in it. An apartment was found, rented, and then came the job hunt. After a week of not finding work she had signed up with a temp agency which would find her work based on her credentials and experience, which got her a few soft jobs across the city but had finally, landed her a job at one of the work safety companies.

Basically if people injured themselves at work, they would lodge a claim with the company and if accepted they would manage all medical expenses and help them return to work.

Once the morning orientation was given, Roxanne was shuffled along with another small group to different floors. They were all separated and sent to different floors since, to Roxanne's surprise, the entire building was owned by the company. Arriving on her floor, 10, Roxanne was greeted by a very unenthusiastic man.

His hair was something else, wavy and styled up high that made him look taller than he really was. He wore a tan brown suit with a blue shirt underneath, and had round glasses at the end of what could be considered a button nose. Roxanne thought he was cute at first, but then he spoke.

"Welcome to Metro Cover, or as I like to refer, seventh layer of Hell." his voice was dry and low and seemed to suck any and all enthusiasm out of the room.

Roxanne blinked, before laughing slightly. "Oh, thanks. Roxanne Ritchi." she held her hand out.

"Bernard Dunnings." he reached out and shook her out stretched hand a moment. "You've been shown how our system works then?"

"Hmm hmm. Simple enough, number crunching." she nodded and followed him as he walked around the corner from where the elevators were and entered the office space with a swipe of a security pass. The doors opened, revealing a floor of cubicles. Grey partitions and walls separated everyone, and you could see people's various personalities leaking through due to whatever they decorated their cubicles with.

"Now you're going to be in the new claims lodgment department. You'll be keying up all new claims, daily prescribed medical certificates and in your down time you'll be doing invoices." Bernard droned on as he walked her past a few cubicles, occupants either too busy typing to look at her but there were a rare few who stuck their heads up to see the new person on their floor.

"What area are you in?" Roxanne asked.

"I'm in travel and chemist. Paying back the workers what they're owed through calculating how much money is in a single kilometer that they travel and paying back their medical bills. Thrilling I know." he replied dryly. "But this got me away from my desk for a while, and I welcomed it."

She glanced at a cubicle they just passed, which had to be Bernard's desk since it was decorated very simply save for a single photograph of Bernard sitting with another man who had really dark skin. Judging by how closely they were sitting, and the smiles on both of them that wasn't just a best friend there.

"So let me give you a brief tour. Questions at the end." Bernard said and began showing her the floor. There were separate departments who all managed their own things. Claim lodgment, travel, chemist, invoice, reimbursements, recoveries, and the mail room. The mail room was at the far end of the floor, and Bernard sighed as they approached. "And this is the zoo, aka the mail room."

"Hey hey!" a voice erupted and from the sorting mail room stepped a short red haired man who was on the pudgy side. "Who's this now? I didn't get any message about a new girl on our floor."

"That's because you're never at your desk, Hal." Bernard replied with a roll of his eyes. "Roxanne, this is Hal Stewart. He's the weasel who hits on all the girls. Even the married ones."

"Hey shut up." Hal shot back before turning to Roxanne and smiled, raising an eyebrow. "So, how're you, Roxanne was it?"

"Fine." Roxanne replied curtly, definitely getting a creepy vibe off of this guy.

"I'll say." Hal replied with a grin.

"Okay Hal you can go back to sorting mail now, you know how hot you make me feel when you're sorting the mail cart." Bernard replied, voice still as flat and dry as anything yet it seemed to freak Hal out enough to running back into the mail room and muttering about gay boys. "He's fairly harmless but if he asks you for a hug just say no."

"Ugh. I'll just wear a sign around my neck saying 'No', how's that?" she asked as he walked her away from the mail room.

"You'll do fine." Bernard said before groaning. "Oh great. Wayne."

"Wayne?" Roxanne asked before turning her head to see they had walked up to a very tall, handsome looking man. He had board shoulders, a shit eaters smile, and wore a pale white suit with a pale gold shirt and white tie. Despite his arrogant air around him Roxanne felt her face flushing.

"My ears are burning." Wayne replied with a charming smile.

"Sigh. Wayne Scott, Roxanne Ritchi, the new girl to claim lodgment." Bernard introduced. "Wayne acts like he's the floor manager but he isn't, so don't feel intimidated."

Wayne laughed and smacked Bernard on the shoulder, which made the skinny man almost fall over. "You know I like you Bernard, always so dry and hilarious! People love this guy despite trying to come off as a cold customer." he said to Roxanne who could only dumbly nod her head and smile.

"Who says cold customer anymore?" Bernard asked as he led Roxanne away.

"Later you two!" Wayne called after them with a wave.

"God he's such a brown noser." Bernard muttered under his breath, pulling Roxanne out of what addled head space she had tumbled into.

"He seems nice enough." she said with a shrug.

"It'll wear off quick." replied Bernard but then grabbed Roxanne's arm and began to walk her quickly past a corner of the floor they hadn't been to yet. "Eyes ahead, don't look away." he hissed quietly.

"What, why, what is it?" Roxanne asked and allowed her eyes to trail to two cubicles which seemed to be off to the side and abandoned, they only had one working light above them both as well.

She saw two name tags on the front of either cubicle, reading 'Megamind' and 'Minion'. Each cubicle was full of paperwork, stationary, and boxes of archives. From within she could hear rapid fire typing from the one marked Megamind, and slower typing from the one on the right named Minion. But it seemed the occupants had been well aware of someone passing since the rapid fire typing stopped and a hand gripped the cubicle wall and a head stuck out.

Megamind was incredibly thin and lanky, wearing black pants that looked too short on him, and a tie that ran all the way down to his waist. He had a small black goatee, impressive eyebrows, but not a hair upon his head. Upon his nose was some thick black rimmed glasses, the bridge that ran across his nose was taped with some masking tape, completing the image one hundred percent. The man was also blue. This surprised Roxanne so much she gasped, which drew out the other occupant of the sister cubicle. It was a fish... in a gorilla robot suit. But he too was wearing a tie, since it was company law, and it was bright red and seemed far too short on his massive torso.

"Megamind and Minion, the freaks of the floor. They do the work nobody else wants to do. Don't make eye contact." Bernard said quickly but a robot hand suddenly reached out and stopped in front of the two, halting them. "Crap."

"Well well well, _Bernard_." Megamind said as he approached the two as he lifted his glasses up to the top of his head in one quick movement, and he was followed obediently by the giant gorilla bodied fish. "Who is _this?_ Is this the new girl we all heard so much about?" he asked as he clasped his hands together.

"Megamind." Bernard said through gritted teeth.

"Oh I like your dress," the fish then said which made Roxanne step back in alarm, eyes wide. "Don't worry I don't bite. Hard." joked the fish before laughing to himself but stopped when Megamind smacked his chest with his hand.

"What's wrong, bat got your tongue?" Megamind asked the quiet woman.

"It's cat. Not bat." Bernard said.

"Really?" the blue skinned man blinked and it was now that Roxanne realized his cranium was double the size of a normal human being. Just what kind of city was this?

"Why are you blue?" Roxanne blurted, unable to help herself but then smacked her hand over her mouth and felt her face turning red from embarrassment.

All around them a series of cheers, or groans, suddenly erupted so loudly it made the poor girl jump in alarm and look around wildly. Megamind looked around as his fellow work-mates began exchanging money and grins, then rolled his eyes to himself.

"Man, I thought she'd hold off to ask him till lunch at least!" said a dark skinned man.

"First minute, I knew it!" said a woman who was getting some money from those sitting around her and looked quite victorious.

"It's a bet we all put on when new blood starts." Bernard explained to Roxanne, "How long it takes until they ask why he's blue or why Minion's a fish. Since you only asked why he's blue and didn't question the fish only a select few of us has won any money." he leaned in and stage whispered, looking at Megamind as he did. "That includes me, so thanks for that."

"Uh..." Roxanne started but was interrupted.

"I am blue because I come from a distant planet that was sucked into a black hole and the last soul survivor because my parents sent me off into the universe in a tiny pod with my Minion for company and protection." Megamind launched into his little speech. "I landed in a correctional facility and once earning my stripes and getting out due to good behavior I entered society and worked my way up the ladder and ended up in THIS dead end job."

"If you hate it so much why don't you leave?" Bernard asked.

"If you hate it so much why don't YOU leave?" Megamind shot back.

"It's so nice to meet you Miss Ritchi, I hope we get to talk a lot more in future!" the fish said to her cheerily, before grabbing the blue alien's shoulder. "Come along Sir, they wanted those reports by three pm and it's one!"

"Fine. We shall continue this later, Bernaaaarrd." Megamind slurred the name before turning and marched back to his cubicle, and Minion vanished into his own.

"Yeah. You're best ignoring those guys." Bernard said as he turned, "Let's show you your cell."

He showed her to a cubical that was just in the line of sight of the corner of freaks. She thanked him for the tour and when he held out his hand and asked for a tip she told him that when the zombie's upraising to wear sensible shoes. Calling her a smart ass, Bernard left. Roxanne spent the rest of the day learning the system a little bit better, typing up claims and medical certificates. Doctors writings were even harder to read than she ever would have imagined. Most of them looked like chicken scratches.

Either way Roxanne met a few new work friends in her area, and did her best to avoid the people who just rubbed her the wrong way. Hal turned out to be as creepy as Bernard had told her since it wasn't an hour after meeting her that he out right approached her and asked if she wanted a hug, then went on to explain that his hugs had magical properties and that any girl he hugged ended up either winning the lottery or finding her true love within a week. She had laughed this off forcefully, and then told him to leave her alone.

Naturally he did not, but at least she had survived her fist day in this new job of hers.

As she was getting into the elevator at the end of the day the doors were just sliding shut when she heard someone running up. Instinctively she pressed the open doors button but then regretted it, since who should walk into the elevator with her but the blue alien and his fish in a robot body.

"Thanks!" Minion thanked her as he took up most of the room in the small elevator and Megamind slipped in besides Roxanne.

"S'nothing." she replied quietly.

"So, first day. What'd you think?" Megamind asked as he pulled off his glasses and slipped them into a glass case and popped that into a small backpack he wore.

"Good. Yeah." Roxanne nodded, eyes on the numbers which showed how quickly they were approaching the ground floor.

"You lie." Megamind grinned, putting his hands into his pockets. "You're beginning to wish you'd gotten another job already am I right? I'm right aren't I?"

"Not really. It's just the first day. So far so good." she said, glancing at the blue alien and having to resist the urge to stare too hard for too long since no doubt he wouldn't like that. Yet at the same time...

"Oh Sir remind me we need to pick up some dinner before we get home. Our fridge busted again." the fish spoke up from behind the two.

"How about sushi?" Megamind asked.

"You're hilarious Sir." Minion replied dryly before the two burst into joined laughter over a joke Roxanne obviously wasn't privy to. The elevator doors slid open and the two stepped out, the two pausing to throw a wave to the girl.

"See you tomorrow!" called the alien before the two walked off and Roxanne quickly exited the lift before she would get stuck going back up to the top floors.

It had certainly been an _interesting_ first day... She almost worried over what the next day would hold.


	2. Chapter 2

The blue alien didn't live too far from his office, luckily. At the end of the day he and Minion would exit the office, head down Main Street of Metro City and arrive at a block of apartments that had been strung up on the top of the busy median mall that ran through the city. As they entered the narrow entranceway Megamind checked their mailbox for mail and only found some bills, so he made an unhappy face as Minion started his way up the stairs.

Living on the ninth floor with no elevator always tuckered Megamind out so he normally ended up being carried by the gorilla robot suit since it never got tired.

"Another day, another three bills and we minus our savings by point sixty four percent." Megamind sighed as he opened the door to their apartment. They had a two-bedroom apartment with modest living room with joined kitchen area. Megamind dropped his backpack onto the floor and began to undo his tie as Minion did the same after setting their dinner (a large pizza half pepperoni half cheese) onto the bench bar in the kitchen section.

"Can you believe it, Wayne and his big chin coming and poking it into our area and telling us that our processes are wrong! As if he knows anything about pulling recovery archives and locating one single invoice that some low life idiot filed incorrectly!" Megamind ranted as he kicked off his shoes before going through to his bedroom to change into his after work gear.

"Halo it is." Minion whispered as he grabbed the XBox and plugged it into the television and stepped back. Spread out in front of their huge flat screen monitor television set was every single console that had been ever created since 1980. Genesis, Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Dreamcast, every single one. And on either side of the huge television were bookshelves as tall as the ceiling and full to the brim with video game cartridges still in their boxes.

"So what did you think, Sir?" the fish asked.

"Think what?" came the voice from the bedroom.

"Of the new girl, Miss Ritchi!" Minion explained.

"Why are you asking me about the girl?" Megamind asked as he exited the bedroom wearing an AC/DC black t-shirt and thin blue jeans with little black slippers, which had tiny bat wings and angry red eyes on them. He went to the pizza and lifted the box, and lifted out his cheese only slice and stuck it to a plate before doing the same for Minion as the fish continued powering up the machine. "I could care less about that brown haired girl." he added.

"Couldn't care less." Minion pointed out. Megamind gave him a silent stare of disapproval, before the fish continued. "Well she seems nice enough, Sir. She actually spoke to us, for once! Half of them on that whole floor much less the entire company ever say two words to us at the best of time." Minion went on to explain as he sat down on their old leather couch, which had indention marks showing where the two normally sat.

Megamind shrugged and grabbed some napkins before hurrying to the couch and handed Minion his plate of pizza and he sat on his side of the couch. "Big deal." he said with a shrug before biting into his cheese pizza.

Minion just gave the alien a side on glance before picking up the controller in his robotic hands. "So what are we going to do tonight, Sir?"

"The same thing we do every night, Minion. Pwn some noobs." Megamind replied, before the two exchanged high fives, bunkered down, and played video games well into the night.

~*~

Meanwhile across town a young man was lounging in front of his own television, in little else but a white polo shirt and his boxers. His skin was rich deep brown that made his surprisingly blue eyes stand out even more then any other color would. In his ears were plugged some white headphones and he was bopping his left foot as he stared blankly at the television screen which was, surprisingly off.

Suddenly in the reflection of the black screen he saw the door to the apartment opened and he saw a silhouette reflected due to the light streaming in from outside. He sat up, smiled broadly, and turned around and kneeled on the couch.

"Welcome home Bernie." he greeted before climbing over the couch as Bernard shut the door and turned the light on.

"Don't call me that." Bernard replied before leaning in for a greeting but stopped and looked down at the half dressed man in front of him. "Steve, where are your pants?"

Steve blinked, then looked down at himself. He looks a little bewildered for a moment, before glancing around in a curious manner before looking back at Bernard. "I was getting changed and realized, hey, it's not the first time he's seen me without my pants."

"Put on your pants." Bernard said dryly as he pulled his jacket off.

"Another lovely day at work, hm?" Steve asked as he picked up the jacket from where Bernard had dropped it.

"Sunshine, lolly pops and rainbows." came the sarcastic reply as he walked through to the bedroom.

"Everything that's wonderful with the world, hm?" Steve asked as he followed after his boyfriend, leaning on the doorframe leading into the bedroom as he watched Bernard continue to remove himself from the clothes that no doubt stunk of work.

"New girl started today, remember I told you?" Bernard asked as he kicked his socks off and stretched his toes.

"Is she cute?" Steve walked in and picked up the socks, rolling them into a ball.

"I don't think anyone's cute." Bernard pointed out.

"Not even me?" the dark man looked aghast at this revelation.

"Ehhhhnnn..." he lifted a hand and shifted it from side to side as if balancing something invisible.

Steve suddenly erupted into laughter before all but tackling Bernard onto the bed, no doubt ruffling the other man's business pants in the process. But Bernard, in a rare moment of clarity, decided not to complain about it.

~*~

"Thank God." Roxanne sighed as she kicked off her heels, and rubbed at the sore heels of her feet. She, like Megamind and Minion, lived in the city so communing from work and home again was fairly easy for her. But unfortunately the brand new shoes she had bought had cut into her heels. "Last time I buy shoes from there." she muttered as she walked across the carpet to change into something more comfortable.

Granted, she went over her first day on the new job and wondered just how much work the people on her floor really got done. Those around her spent most of the afternoon putting people on hold, then talking about how sick their kids were or who was dating whom.

Already she knew far too much about those on the other side of the floor without even knowing the names to the faces.

"I mean who cares if Rachel and Brett made out at the last drinks party despite her having a boyfriend and then just yesterday both of them were sick on the exact same day? I don't CARE about this!" so why was she talking about it now, to herself?

Sighing, she found her bed and threw herself onto it, face down.

"At least the coffee's good."

Coffee was very important, especially free coffee. And they offered Well Being at Work programs that involved yoga, Pilates, and weight watchers. Roxanne subconsciously pressed a hand to her rear and groaned at the size of it. No matter how hard she dieted, or worked out, her butt refused to shrink.

"Damnit."

Some of those girls in the office were so god damn beautiful, perfect hair, make up, boobs, waists and butts. What were they doing in such a dead end job, shouldn't they be on TV somewhere running slow-mo on a beach?

Roxanne threw herself backwards so she was now lying on her back and staring up at her ceiling. Then, suddenly, just as it had done for the past seven nights she had been living in this apartment, she heard the noise. The floor above her somebody was playing video games. Very, very, loud video games.

Groaning, Roxanne dragged her hands over her face. She didn't need this, not now. Not now that she had a full time job! She needed her sleep to be up and fresh in the mornings and she couldn't if she was awake half the night listening to two idiots shouting back and forth beneath the deafening racket that was things exploding and irritating video game music.

Moving with purpose Roxanne pulled on her slippers, grabbed her keys and stormed upstairs. The elevator wasn't working, which was annoying but the flat was decently priced and spacious so she took the good with the bad. Reaching the ninth floor Roxanne counted the doors until she was at the one that was immediately above her own, and unleashed a pounding on that door it would never had experienced in its lifetime.

She kept banging until her hand got sore, and when that happened she began to change to the other when the door was suddenly pulled open.

"Finally!" she started just as the door started, "Don't you realize there are other people in this apartment block? Other people who have a JOB who need to GET UP EARLY and- and..." Roxanne's rant died on her tongue as she saw who stood at the door.

It was Minion.

Minion the _fish._

Minion the fish in a gorilla robot suit.

From _work._

Her eyes were wide and her mouth slung open in a mix of both surprise and abject horror.

"Why Miss Ritchi!" Minion started, obviously a little embarrassed within his fish bowl of a head since he was attempting to hide behind his fins and failing. "My upmost apologies I did not-_Sir!_ Put your pants back on!"

"Why who is it?" Megamind's voice could be heard from just behind Minion.

"It's Miss Ritchi! From work!" the fish explained, turning his body in the glass head to peer at his boss. The image alone disturbing something deep within Roxanne, and reminded her of seeing The Exorcist long before she should have.

"WHAT!" Megamind's shrill voice pierced her ears. "STALL HER!" then came the clattering noise f somebody running through a lot of things, accompanied with cries of pain.

Minion turned his body back to Roxanne and smiled nervously. "So... you're our neighbour!" the fish declared as he held up his giant robot hands. "That's just super! You see the rest of this place is pretty much full of old deaf people, since the rent has stayed the same since the 1950's. That's why we can play our games normally as loud as we please, nobody really cares. Until now." he said and bowed suddenly, causing the woman to jump back, hands raised as if expecting him to attack her. "We're so sorry!"

"Sorry for what, who is it? Who dares disturb the Master Chief in his noob pwning?" Megamind demanded as he finally returned, wearing pants, and tugged at Minion's arm to tug him out of the way. "...Roxanne!" Megamind gaped, suddenly looking very apprehensive and almost shy being discovered in his personal space.

Roxanne stared at him, and realized just how different he looked when not wearing the nerd get up she saw him at work. Here, he wasn't wearing his glasses. Or that ridiculous tie and suit combination that only made him look far skinnier then he really was. Here he was just a guy relaxing in his casual clothes, just like she would be doing right now if she hadn't stormed up here to chew his head off.

Which reminded her.

"You guys play your games too loud." she finally said.

Megamind narrowed an eye, as if contemplating how to answer. Nobody had ever told them off before but then again a GIRL had never come to their door before making demands.

"I... guess we could turn it down...? But we were living here first. By rights of who was here first should be able to play their music as loud as they please." he added quickly, glancing at Minion for confirmation. The fish merely blinked.

"That's ridiculous!" Roxanne snapped, her apprehension vanishing quickly. "I have to get a good nights sleep, so do you! You start work at what, eight thirty?"

"Seven." Minion piped up.

"S-seven?" the woman opened her eyes wide. "But you leave the same time I do!"

"Yes. We work an extra hour and a half in return we work less one hour so we have a larger out-pouring of work." Megamind said quickly and rapidly before waving his hands at her. "If we can play our video games until past midnight and still be at work in time at seven o'clock then I do not see what the problem is."

"We're two.. uh.. three very different people... fish?" Roxanne glanced to Minion who simply smiled at her. "Not everyone can go to bed past midnight and operate on six hours sleep. I am NOT one of those people and I am NOT going to become one just so you can feed your geeky video game obsession. Lower the volume. Or I'm going to make a formal complaint to the super."

"You _wouldn't._" Megamind said, narrowing his eyes.

"I _will._" Roxanne replied. She reached forward and jabbed her finger into his chest, easily nudging the skinny alien back. "So lower the volume. Or _else._"

She turned on her sore heels, held her head up and stormed off. Megamind leaned out of his door and watched her go, his eyes flitting to her rear before back to her head as she quickly vanished down the stairs. Suddenly realizing he should have said something he called out after her.

"BRING IT ON SISTER!" before slamming the door shut and turned, arms folding over his chest and glared ahead of him.

"That went well!" Minion said with a big grin, but promptly lost it when Megamind shot him an angry glare.

"If she thinks she can move in and muscle in on OUR territory with her girly needs and desires she's got another thing coming!" Megamind announced before unzipping his jeans and tugging them off and throwing them to the floor. "And don't pick it up! It's manly to throw your clothes to the floor and leave them to fester!"

"Is it?" Minion asked, looking down at the jeans in disgust. "I just found it sloppy."

"You know me too. Sorry." Megamind quickly grabbed up his jeans and hurried through to his bedroom, mind going a million miles a minute. Roxanne, the new girl from work, was his neighbour. Right now she was downstairs, in her apartment. What was she doing? Was she changing for bed? Was she in the shower, trying to cool off from yelling at him?

Why was he suddenly thinking of things like this? He gave off a frustrated grunt as he folded his jeans and put them into their proper drawer before going back out to join Minion on the couch.

They ended up watching the Fifth Element instead, and at a reasonable volume.


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning boys, how's your day been so far?" Wayne, decked out in another one of his sparkling white suit, asked as he spotted Megamind and Minion arriving that morning.

"I'm here aren't I?" Megamind asked, pulling out his glasses and sliding them onto his nose as he turned his computer on.

"Hah! Somebody's got a case of the Mondays." Wayne grinned.

"It's Wednesday." Minion pointed out as he was just scribbling out the Star Wars calendar on his cubical wall. A picture of C3PO and R2D2 stared out at him.

"Mondays can spread through the rest of the week, my finned friend." Wayne replied with a wink before looking back to Megamind. "Oh by the way I heard tell they're moving the copier."

"Moving it, why?" Megamind asked, just wishing that Mr. Big Chin would leave him be so he could get started on his work.

"I dunno something about moving it to a more workable place for those in this area to access. Something or another." he waved his hand in a dismissive way.

"So where are they moving it, Mr. Scott?" Minion asked.

"Please tell us because we're _dying_ to know." Megamind added so dryly Bernard would have shed a tear at its majesty.

"Right here!" Wayne suddenly pulled back and gestured to a bit of floor space right in front of Megamind and Minion's cubicles. Sure enough there were the facility men, moving the large, out of date copier just where he instructed.

"WHAT?" the blue alien asked angrily, eyes wide in rage as he watched them position the printer. "They never asked if I would agree to this! Do you know how loud this thing is! And how much heat it gives off? I'll be tanned in a day!"

"Truth is lil' buddy they don't have to ask your permission. This is the company's property and if they want to move it, they can move it." Wayne had a point, despite how annoying it was that he did.

"This is going to make maneuverability into our cubicles very difficult..." Minion said as he had to move sideways now to fit into the small door of his cubicle to sit at his desk.

"I'm going to lodge a formal complaint to the floor manager! This is a blatant disregard of occupational health and safety! Look at this wire, just look at it! Anyone could just trip over it!" Megamind ranted and raved, uncaring if the mail room and the early starters like himself and Minion could hear him bitch.

Wayne rolled his eyes. "Good luck with that, buddy. See you later!" and with that he walked off, sipping his coffee as if he had no cares in the world.

"I am NOT your buddy!" Megamind called after him, then promptly jumped since the copier decided to make a random 'I am working' noise which sounded like a coffee grinder powered on and being driven over by a eighteen wheeler truck.

"At least we don't have to go far for photocopies now Sir!" Minion pointed out with a nervous smile as he stood up to peer over his wall to see the alien.

"Blatant disregard..." muttered Megamind as he went into his cubicle and sat down, flinching as the copier once again started to make that awful noise. At least the facility guys were decent enough to use stark black tape to stick the chord down into the carpet so nobody could trip over it.

Roxanne arrived an hour and fifteen minutes later and as she was making her early morning coffee in the small kitchen room on the floor she couldn't help but notice the old location of the photocopier was now empty. Bernard, who was just arriving at the kitchen to wash his breakfast bowl, was the most logical choice in asking.

"Hey Bernard, what happened to the photocopier?" she asked.

"For all I care it sprouted wings and flew away." he replied as he squeezed past her to the sink and began rinsing the bowl.

"Well I haven't seen it near my area..." Roxanne trailed off.

"That's because they moved it, little lady." the deep voice of Wayne startled Roxanne to the point of almost dropping her coffee and staining her nice pink blouse. She turned to look up at him, face flushing brilliantly.

"Moved it?" she fought the urge to tell him to not call her little lady, but found her voice lost somewhere.

"Hmmhm." Wayne reached in above her to grab the sugar to add to his own coffee. "Management felt it was in a bad place so they repositioned it at the Northern corner of the floor." he explained as he added his sugar before handing the jar back to her. "Put this back for me please?"

She did, quickly, before pausing to think. "Wait, the Northern... isn't that near-"

"Megamind and Minion." Bernard said, reminding Roxanne that he was here. Funny how he blended into the background when he wanted to. Maybe he was part Ninja. "I'm sure they were pleased as punch."

"Well Megamind certainly made his point clear he was unhappy with it, that's for sure." Wayne chuckled.

"And I missed it. Damn. Why did I have to insist on styling my hair in the mornings instead of starting at seven so I can watch the blue guy shout till he's bluer in the face?" Bernard asked, sounding so unenthusiastic he could probably make a Care Bear cry. "No doubt he'll be complaining louder still whenever anyone uses it."

"He already scared Belinda this morning." Wayne said before grinning at Roxanne. "Catch ya later Roxy." with that he walked off back to wherever it was his cubicle was.

"Later..." she mumbled after him.

"Just plaster a 'I'm single' sign to your chest and back already Roxanne." Bernard said as he put the bowl away into the stack that was on the kitchen shelves.

"Excuse me?" Roxanne asked, eyes wide.

"You've been turning red every time Wayne comes swinging 'round. You're like a cat in heat. If you like him just make the moves on him, you wouldn't be the first." Bernard went on to say as he walked out of the kitchen with her so others could get in there and do their own thing.

"I am not like a cat in heat!" Roxanne denied strongly.

"Denial is so sad. But come on." Bernard suddenly said, grabbing Roxanne's arm.

"What?" she blinked, surprised by his sudden change in topic. "Where are we going?"

"To make unnecessary copies of documents." Bernard grinned so wickedly Roxanne wouldn't have been surprised if some devil horns erupted from his forehead.

"You're horrible!" Roxanne laughed, but then remembered just who her neighbors were, and she grinned in the exact same way. "And I love you."

Megamind was in the middle of typing up a eighty page payment summary for one of the larger companies in the city, fingers nothing but a blur across the keyboard as he typed. The only time he stopped was when the computer had to pause to catch up to him. His teeth were gritted against a pencil, eyes narrowed as he kept glancing at the front of his cubicle to see who would dare interrupt his early morning work with photocopying.

Minion meanwhile was going through some old archive boxes which he had ordered from the main company in another building, so it looked like he had built his own little fortress around his cubicle out of brown boxes with dates written over them and wrapped in packing tape.

Both Bernard and Roxanne stood just out of Megamind's field of vision, both clutching data report forms. Bernard looked like a kid on Christmas morning, bouncing on his heels in a rare show of enthusiasm and joy. It was a little disturbing to Roxanne, who had only seen him as surly and sarcastic but it was doubly horrifying for those who had known him for years.

"Ladies first." Bernard said, gesturing to the photocopier.

Roxanne withheld the urge to make a joke, but nodded and walked with purpose towards the photocopier. Her shoes, flats today, thumped on the carpet as she approached. She slid the paper into the feeder and pressed a three digit number to the machine. That alone had Megamind lunging from his cubicle as her painted nail hit the green button for go.

"Who is-" Megamind froze, glasses magnifying his eyes to ridiculous proportions, and stared at her. He hadn't seen her since their altercation at his door the night before and that memory brought up the mental image he had taken of her walking away. His face turned purple. "...what are you photocopying?" he asked as the old machine began to screech as it made its copies.

"Data accuracy performance forms. We were running low." Roxanne said smugly, fighting back the guilty feeling that was gnawing at the back of her neck.

"I doubt that." Megamind said stiffly.

"It's true, you can ask my team leader if you don't believe me." she replied, that guilty feeling still gnawed at her though. He had turned the volume down, and she hadn't heard any video game or shouting from above her room last night. She should at least thank him for that.

"Hmf!" he turned on his heels and walked back into his cubicle and she heard the rapid typing. Was he typing an email?

Roxanne decided against thanking him, instead she stood there and folded her arms as she watched the photo copier grind out the copies. The machine was fairly dated so it took its time, and the quality wasn't the best but what could she do? At least it wasn't right next to her cubicle like the two aliens besides her. She tapped her foot, then whistled quietly.

"Stop that." Megamind said before standing up and sticking a small hand written sign above the photocopier which said 'No Whistling'.

"Oh come on!" Roxanne exclaimed, "You're being ridiculous!"

"I am _trying_ to work! It's hard enough with this thing screeching in my ear the last thing I need is your off tune whistling on top of it!" Megamind snapped.

"I am not off tune!" Roxanne gasped.

"You are so! You were a whole octave below that it's meant to be!" Megamind pointed out from behind his cubicle wall.

Bernard, having watched all this from the sidelines, sauntered up and set his free hand to his hip. "Now children stop squabbling or no play time for either of you." he said drly, with a small hint of a grin to his mouth.

"Oh God kill me now." Megamind could be heard whispering before he appeared from the cubicle, half hidden due to the poor lighting and the light from his own screen bounces off one side of his head.

"Here we find the office troll, emerging from his nesting space. Observe his shrunken, haunted look of an animal who has no doubt seen great horrors in its life and knows that it will never achieve happiness." Bernard narrated, doing his best Richard Attenborough impersonation.

Roxanne covered her mouth and snorted, while Megamind simply glared.

"Can I help you, _Bernard_?" asked Megamind, through gritted teeth.

"No you can't." Bernard replied as he set the next task for the photocopier in, and pressed another three digit number.

"Oh come ON!" Megamind groaned, putting his fists to his forehead. "You too?"

"It's the office photocopier, not Megamind's photocopier." Bernard pointed out as he stood besides Roxanne as her job started to slowly get to the half way done point. "People are going to be using it."

If looks could kill, Bernard would no doubt be a smoking pile of ash on the carpet right now.

Megamind then pulled out from his pocket two ear buds and inserted them into his ears, shoved his hand deep into his pocket and pressed a button. From where Roxanne and Bernard stood, despite the grinding noise of the photocopier, they could pick up the obvious Mika song screaming into the blue aliens ears. He lifted his head and turned his back to them before vanishing into his cubicle. Seconds later there came the rapid keyboard smashing.

"Wow. That's loud." Roxanne said, wincing at the pain the alien's ear drums would be suffering.

"Bored now." Bernard announced as he turned and simply walked away, leaving Roxanne to collect the rest of the photocopies and to put them in the proper locations.

She grabbed the six hundred odd photocopies in her arms and she could still hear the high pitched part of the song Megamind was listening to, and couldn't help but smile to herself that he listened to Grace Kelly at a time like this. "Sorry about that Minion." she whispered through the stack of archives that surrounded Minion's cubicle.

"That's okay Miss Ritchi!" Minion replied from within his four walls, "Work is work after all."

Roxanne made her way back to her team, the sound of Mika fading into the distance but quickly replaced by Megamind screaming at some other poor soul who had dear approach the photocopier in order to use it.

"Whoa somebody raided a forest!" Pina, the woman who sat in the cubicle next to Roxanne, exclaimed as she walked past with her arms full.

"Heh, yeah..." Roxanne felt a little embarrassed now. How ridiculous it must look to be carrying a stack of paper so high it was under her chin?

After that she settled at her desk and decided to get her teeth really sunk into typing up claim forms and employer report forms. Doctors writing continued to be incredibly difficult to read, and she grew annoyed at one doctor in particular whose writing style probably evolved from chicken scratches minus the claws chickens had on their feet.

The email system continued to give her some entertainment through the day, since it seemed she had decided to join Metro Cover at the right time of year since there was talk of the Autumn Family Picnic, and then the Halloween After Work Party. There was already talk of the Christmas Function too, which was always a dress up event. The past few years had included Arabian Nights, Gangsters of 1920, the Circus and even the Seventies.

It dazzled Roxanne that so many events would be going on for a company like this, but everyone needed their fun she guessed.

"So Roxy, bringing anyone to the Autumn picnic?" Hal's voice made Roxanne jump since she hadn't heard him walk up to her cubicle despite pushing a squeaky wheeled trolley full of mail.

"Oh! Hal. You scared me!" she gasped.

"Score one for Hal." he grinned. "So, bringing anyone? Boyfriend? Husband? Kids? ...girlfriend?" Hal raised an eyebrow at that last one, a hopeful grin on his face.

"Mm." Roxanne forced a smile. "Sorry Hal. No girlfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Hal asked.

"No." she shook her head, unable to lie and say she had a partner.

"Awesome me neither. I mean. No girlfriend. I don't have a boyfriend." he explained.

"No? And here I would have thought you'd bring all the boys to the yard." Bernard's dry sarcasm sounded like an Angelic Choir to Roxanne at this very moment.

Hal was quick to move along now, handing Roxanne at least ten new claims needing keying and vanished down the halls. Bernard smirked, watching Hal go.

"How do you do that?" she asked.

"What?" Bernard asked.

"Touch his buttons. He never leaves if you don't come 'round. I've tried ignoring him, cold shoulder, listening, he just keeps talking and talking!" she said, frustration on her face.

"You're his new project. He's going to bother you until you give in and either hug him or worse." Bernard replied dryly before adding. "He's intimidated because I'm a guy who's into guys. Like I said, Hal's harmless but he's narrow minded. Simple and stupid." he sipped from his coffee.

"Are _you_ coming to the picnic?" Roxanne dared to ask, smirking at the idea of Bernard at a picnic that had fellow workers with their kids.

"Steve no doubt will want to come. Sigh." he rolled his eyes Heaven ward. "He always makes me go. Bunch of little brats screaming at the top of their lungs and running around, hyped on BBQ and sweets... add a bouncy castle and activities and I see a lot of colorful vomit on my shoes. Steve loves stuff like this."

"He sounds very active." Roxanne commented.

"He keeps me on my toes. Certainly makes my life interesting, in good ways. Not like this place." Bernard glanced around and spotted somebody and made an annoyed face. "Speaking of I best get back to my desk. Team leaders giving me the stink eye." he turned and drifted off towards his cubicle but Roxanne noticed how he side swiped his cubical and vanished somewhere else.

Roxanne read the e-mail about the Autumn BBQ Picnic again. It sounded like a nice idea, a good place to meet the other workers in the company who were on different floors. She was always up for meeting new friends, and she had seen some cuties in the elevators most mornings who she wouldn't mind getting to know more.

Clicking the email she let the organizers know she would be coming, but coming alone.

"Sounds fun." she said to herself as she got back to work.

"Are we going this year, Sir?" Minion asked as he and Megamind were both reading the exact same email at this point in time.

"What date is it?" Megamind asked.

"Second of August, Sir."

"Second..." he paused to think about his schedule. "We might as well. I hear this year they'll even be having karaoke available."

"Ooh, karaoke! That's always fun, Sir!" Minion clapped his metal hands together, and selected as 'coming' but alone.

"It's always fun rubbing these peoples noses into just how talented we are." Megamind replied as he did the same. "If only children weren't allowed. Worthless little cretins, carrying disease..."

"Children seem to like me, Sir." Minion replied as he turned to grab another archive box.

"That's because of your charming and winning personality, Minion." Megamind said with absolute sincerity and honesty in his voice, "You could win anyone over. Me, on the other hand, I'm far more fickle. Especially when it comes to children."

"Don't I know it!"


	4. Chapter 4

A week later, Roxanne was relaxing in her apartment on a particularly warm Sunday afternoon. The city was experiencing a sudden heat wave that seemed to have come out of nowhere. People were being advised to stay indoors, keep cool, and drink lots of fluids.

At this moment she could be found sitting on her couch and sitting with her air conditioner blowing cool air straight into her face. She was wearing a singlet shirt and simple shorts that looked like they were better off at home on a beach while catching some waves. Course, the girl couldn't surf to save her life but one of her ex's had been and when he had stormed out of her life a year and a half ago he had forgotten the shorts. Now they made a living of being her hot weather wear, which is better then ending up in a bin somewhere.

"God where did this come from..." she muttered as she ran a hand through the back of her hair, shuddering at just how wet it felt despite having not had a shower since that morning.

But then the worst possible thing could happen. The fan began to slow, and the single light she had on in the corner of the room flickered. "Oh no." she said and just as she was reaching for the fan it turned off and the room fell into darkness. Swearing up a storm Roxanne made her way to her window and pulled the blinds open and groaned, since her room was situated right where the bright sun was and she was blasted with its brightness.

She wondered if the power was off to the whole grid, or just their apartment block. It was a fairly old building after all. Just as she was wondering this she heard music coming from above her. Did Megamind and Minion still have power? If they did, that meant they might have an air conditioner still working! But dare she go up there asking for help? She had been a _bit_ of a pain for Megamind at work, but then again he had been a _big_ a pain back at her. Sighing, and gritting her teeth, she grabbed her keys and left her apartment and started her way up the stairs and didn't even bother grabbing her flip-flops.

Outside in the hall it was like working into a sauna that was holed up inside a furnace. Just half way up the stairs she could already feel the sticky feeling of sweat running down her back and front, making her white shirt cling in unsatisfactory ways. Once arriving on the right floor, she approached their door and knocked twice. This time, unlike last time she went to their door, Megamind was the one who answered. Today he was wearing a red Queen t-shirt with deep blue shorts on; he too was not wearing any footwear. When he opened the door she suddenly realized why the music she had been hearing from downstairs seemed so familiar; it wasn't video game music at all, it was music from Beauty and the Beast. This was the last thing she expected to hear today, especially coming from this apartment.

"Um." she started dumbly since she realized she was standing there shoeless and no doubt looking frazzled and hot because of the weather. "Do you still have power?" Roxanne asked.

Megamind raised an eyebrow slowly before answering. "Yes. We have our own back up power generator since we use so much power up here. Why, is there a black out?" he asked, glancing around as if he was going to spot a tell-tale sign outside of the sweaty woman on his doorstep.

"Yes." Roxanne replied. "Just now."

"There's a power outage?" Minion asked as he suddenly joined Megamind at the door, "Oh that's horrible, Miss Ritchi please, come in!" and before she could truly put up an argument, she found herself yanked into Megamind and Minion's apartment.

It was a lot neater then she thought it would be. For one she could see the carpet and it seemed like it had been recently vacuumed for she saw nothing in it at all. Upon the walls of the lounge area was nothing but posters of various movies, musicals, and video game promotions that were probably stolen from video game stores.

She shuddered and let out a low grateful noise once the cool air suddenly blasted over her. "Oh my God that feels amazing." she sighed, having long since gotten used to her lousy little fan that didn't give off too much cool air at all.

Megamind, suddenly looking fairly uncomfortable, rubbed at his nose. "Well. It's all right if you can put up with the Disney stuff. It's Minion's Sunday to choose the music we play and he was in this kind of mood."

"I can't help it!" Minion said as he walked across to the kitchen area to get a cool drink for their visitor, their first TRUE visitor, in years. "This music just puts me in a really good mood and on a day like this I need all the good mood I can get!"

Roxanne wondered how a heat wave could be affecting a fish that was living suspended in water while on a gorilla robot body but felt like she'd be asking a question she didn't really want to know the answer to, so kept quiet on the subject.

"Why, what kind of music do you like?" Roxanne posed at Megamind.

"Anything not connected to cartoon crap. Rock, alternative, musical, Japanese, video game OST... you know. The usual. I don't dig hip-hop though, that stuff is all about loud beats and swearing as much as you can." he shrugged his shoulders before frowning, spotting Minion offering Roxanne a drink. "And since when did I invite you into my apartment?"

"Come on now Sir," Minion said, "We can't leave her to swelter in this heat if we can help it!"

"Look I just have to ask something." Roxanne said, finally biting a bullet she had been dodging since starting at her job two weeks ago. "Why do you call him Sir? Are you... are you two... like...?" she gestured something with her hands that even she couldn't really put words into.

Minion look horrified, and Megamind looked disgusted. Obviously they understood vague hand gestures fluently.

"It's just that you always call him Sir and he's in no way above you in the company and why would you call him that outside of work hours unless you two had some kind of master-slave relationship thing happening I'm sorry this is so rude to ask but-"

She found her mouth suddenly smothered by Megamind's hand, and she was surprised to notice just how damn soft his hands were. It felt like newborn baby skin. "No." he said through gritted teeth. "I am NOT in a relationship with a fish."

"It would be improper and against many moral codes!" Minion gaped, "Besides, however handsome Sir is he isn't my type. For one, he breathes air."

"So why?" Roxanne asked, once the blue alien freed her mouth.

Minion shrugged. "It just works."

"I keep telling him he can call me Megamind but he always calls me Sir. So I gave up telling him to change it." Megamind said as he picked up Roxanne's drink and took a quick sip.

"Hey!" Roxanne nabbed it out of his hands. "Rude."

"So how about you, Miss Ritchi?" Minion piped up, leaning on the kitchen counter with curiosity in his tone and expression. "Are _you_ seeing anybody?"

Roxanne felt her face flushing for reasons unrelated to the heat. "Uh. No."

"_Really_?" Megamind asked, suddenly sounding far too interested in the topic then he should be.

"Really. Why?" Roxanne looked at him with a narrowed eye.

Megamind seemed frozen for a split second before scoffing, and shrugging his shoulders. "Oh. Well. I mean. With your _charming_ and _winning_ personality I would have thought you'd be bringing them in faster then a flame with moths!" he said before folding his arms behind his back and sniffed the air once.

Minion groaned inwardly and slammed his metallic palm against his forehead, or in this case the glass of his head bowl.

"Excuse me!" Roxanne snapped, "But what are you saying exactly? It's not like you're a hot prize yourself, sitting in your little corner of the world and acting like you're better then everyone!"

"I do not ACT. I AM." Megamind shot back.

"God you are such a jerk. No wonder you're stuck living with a fish!" Roxanne growled, before glancing at Minion. "No offence Minion."

"None taken." Minion sighed tiredly, wishing his friend knew when to keep his big blue mouth shut.

"Excuse _ME_ but at least I'm living with somebody!" Megamind shot back, "And not pining over the office jerk!"

"Wayne is not a jerk! And I am not pining after him!" Roxanne yelled back, unable to hold back the blush on her face. Was she that obvious to everyone on the floor but the man who her feelings were aimed at? Was he blind to her affections and her flirtations through the day?

He wasn't gay, Bernard could attest for that since he told her about how many women Wayne went through. "He's like a Motel Six. They never stay longer then a few hours." he had said.

So why, why wasn't it going anywhere? She wasn't going to lower herself to the point of wearing a low cut top and leaning in such a way so to give him a good eyeful. She was above that kind of crap, wasn't she?

"You're in denial so deep... you... I don't know!" Megamind waved his hands in the air.

"Ugh you're impossible!" Roxanne shouted suddenly, "I came up here, because my apartment has no power, and I want to keep cool! So back off, before I break something in order TO cool off!"

Megamind's glare vanished into one of worry before grabbing the closest looking expensive appearing thing, which had been on a shelf by the kitchen. How was Roxanne to know that it was a gun that was a ANH version of Princess Leia Blaster, one of 2,500 released back in 2004? It even had its own little stand and a name plaque describing what it was. He took a few steps away from her, giving her a wide girth. "You can have the couch. I'm going in my room." he said before turning and leaving the room quickly and shut his bedroom door behind him. A split second later his door opened again and she saw his blue hand reach out and hang a 'Do not Disturb' sign on his doorknob, and then shut the door again.

There was an awkward pause.

"I'm _so_ sorry about him." Minion spoke up after a the awkward pause had left the room. "Sir isn't really used to people being in his private space."

"You shouldn't have let me in then." Roxanne replied, suddenly feeling very tired and somewhat guilty but doing her best to ignore that guilty feeling to the best of her ability.

"I couldn't let you stay out there and suffer. I'm hardly the kind of fish who would allow such a thing to happen now come on, and sit." Minion guided her to the couch, and she cast a glance back towards Megamind's door that was still shut.

"Is he going to be all right?" she asked.

"Give him an hour and he'll be on the couch besides us. Believe you me." the fish replied and sat down on the couch and patted the space besides him.

She sat besides him, before suddenly realizing just how cluttered the front of the television was. The video game consoles stood out like headstones in a cemetery. "Wow. I didn't know you were guys were so... into this."

"Oh yes. We have been for a long time now. They offer a great escape for both of us!" Minion replied brightly. "Do you play any video games, Miss Ritchi?"

"When I was little my neighbour had a Sega... I used to go over and play Sonic with her. Other games like that, but we never got far." she shrugged, nursing her drink. "We never took it seriously."

"Nothing wrong about that at all, Miss Ritchi." Minion said with a smile. "They are for fun after all."

What followed turned out to be a surprisingly restful afternoon for Roxanne. She would never in her life had thought she would find herself talking about childhood and video games with a fish who got around in a robot body suit. Yet that is what they did. She talked about the hours she and her friend had played a Sega system, and Minion even pointed out they owned the same one as well as the games they had played. This shouldn't have come as a surprise since they seemed to own every game from the past twenty years crammed into their apartment somehow.

And just like Minion predicted, Megamind very carefully reintroduced himself to the conversation after about an hour.

"...And Hal will probably end up following you around the whole BBQ like a lost dog." Megamind concluded as he sipped from a glass of cold water. "He's like that whenever a new girl starts."

"He so needs to be sued for sexual harassment." Roxanne muttered, reaching for a chip from a bowl that Minion had set on the coffee table.

"Doesn't he just?" Minion asked.

"Oh man is that... wait, is that the time?" Roxanne blinks as she stares at the clock that was positioned atop the large screen that was still off, and simply reflected their images back at them. The clock was round, green, and instead of the usual numbers it had calculations, which basically equalled the number it would normally represent.

"It's twenty five over two equals one hundred over x to minus eight equals two minus x already?" Megamind asked, glancing at the clock.

"Twenty to ten." Minion whispered to Roxanne.

"I need to get back to my place," she said as she got to her feet.

"Why?" Minion asked, blinking.

"To sleep?" Roxanne replied, unsure why Minion was asking.

"Well all right. If your apartment still doesn't have power feel free to come and crash on our couch, it's really no bother." the fish said, and while Roxanne was looking at him she missed the look of shock and horror, mixed with awe, on Megamind's face at such a suggestion.

"Oh no, no no. You guys have already done enough, thanks. I'll manage with a window open and... uh. Yeah." Roxanne was thankful she had stopped there and hadn't gone into how she'd sleep in nothing at all. However nice these guys were, at least when alone and not under the influence of toner cartridge ink and work, she wasn't going to tell them she slept in her birthday suit on hot nights.

Megamind stayed on the couch as Minion saw her out of the apartment, and waved feebly at the woman as she wished them good night and left the room.

"Well that ended better then how it started!" Minion announced as he locked the door.

"Hm." Megamind said, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Something wrong, Sir? Did you want her to stay the night?" Minion asked as he approached the couch, leaning against its back.

"What? No! No, why would I want some sweaty female staying the night on my couch? What happens when morning comes she'd take up the shower for hours like all women do and we wouldn't get to use our bathroom and we'd be late to work then Wayne would come down on us all cheery and big chinned and NO. I didn't want her staying here." Megamind said in one long breath as he got up off the couch and started to head towards his bedroom.

"Are you going to _bed_?" Minion asked, surprised. "What about our late night pwning of the noobs?" he gestured to the television set.

"I'm not in the mood. You play, Minion. Good night." Megamind vanished into his room but didn't get to shut the door since Minion's hand grabbed the door. He had extended his arm from where he stood near the couch, and Megamind stared at the metal hand before glaring over to his friend. "What?"

"You aren't ever not in the mood to play video games, Sir." Minion said, "What's wrong?"

Megamind stood there, knowing better then to try and force his door shut since Minion was stronger than him. He sighed and leaned his head against the door.

"Sir, do you like Miss Ritchi?" Minion asked quietly, knowing he was treading on very thin ice.

The purple on his boss' face answered the question and he slowly let go of the door.

"Don't say anything. Promise me." Megamind said quietly, as if someone could over hear them.

"I promise, Sir. But you know it isn't right to hide this, you should tell her you like her." the fish explained.

"Oh sure right that'll go over great wouldn't it? She likes Wayne. Everyone likes Wayne. Wayne's the greatest thing since sliced BREAD!" Megamind threw his arms up skywards in aggravation. "How would you feel if the office dweeb with arms as thick as pencils came up and told you he liked you, that he wanted to go out with you, while you yourself liked the muscle tower of strength that is Wayne Scott? Him and his perfect hair, flawless good looks and rippling muscles. Ugh!" Megamind turned and stormed into his room and punched his pillow off his bed.

"Oh Sir." Minion sighed as he followed in after his friend, "You shouldn't think of it that way. Sure, Mr Scott's got the looks, money, and body but he's got the personality of a wet soggy cloth compared to you! All he does is smarm and charm people. You engage their minds and intellect! If I were a girl I'd most definitely want to go out with you."

"That, oddly, isn't helping." Megamind said dryly.

Minion rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying! You shouldn't sell yourself short just because you're not like Mr Scott. I'm GLAD you're not like Mr Scott. He's as sharp as a bowling ball, while you're so sharp you could cut atoms in half."

"Then cause destruction and devastation and nuclear blasts." sighed the alien before tumbling onto his bed, face down. "Thanks Minion."

"You know what I mean, Sir." Minion patted his friend's shoulder encouragingly. "Try not to worry. Try being friendlier towards Miss Ritchi and it'll get you places! You'll see."

Megamind made a non-committal grunt noise and the fish knew it was his time to leave. He got up and left the room, turning the light off as he left and shut the door quietly behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

The sun was out, the birds were singing, the cloud was spotted with cute little white clouds and one couldn't ask for a more perfect day. Children were playing and laughing, adults were socializing and getting to know one another, and Bernard was stuck in the middle of it all and hating every single second of it.

"Oh come on Bernie don't look so glum." Steve said as he lifted a cold can of soda to his lips, "Even you can't find something wrong on a day like this surely."

"Challenge accepted." Bernard replied.

Steve rolled his eyes.

"Tell me again why we're here, honestly. You know this kind of touchy feely togetherness isn't my brand of things and throwing children into the mix only further irks me." Bernard went on, and watched as some face painted six year olds went running past the two of them.

"Because it's life! Things are happening! You can't sit holed up in our apartment or in the library for your entire life. When you get to be sixty, old, crotchety and sitting in a nursing home somewhere you're going to wish that you had stories to tell!" Steve enthusiastically explained.

"Who would I tell these stories to, exactly? Because by rights I wouldn't have any children, or grandchildren, to be telling." Bernard pointed out. "I'm going to become one of those crotchety old angry men who shake their walking sticks at little brats and tell them to keep off of my lawn, pay for my groceries in pennies, and hold up people in lines and complain loudly about my bowel movements. And I am looking forward to it with every single passing day because when you're that old, you can be as rude as you want and nobody tells you to be nice."

Steve smirked and wrapped an arm around the man's shoulders, pulling him in for a one armed hug. "Well at least you're aspiring to something in life."

"To retirement." they both said at the same time and clinked their soda cans together.

"Bernard!" a voice called out, and Bernard turned his head and his eyes widened when he realized who it was. He grabbed Steve's arm.

"Crap. Move. Maybe he'll be distracted by something with boobs and a tiny waist." Bernard said hurriedly as he attempted to steer Steve away but Wayne accosted them.

"Well well, I thought you wouldn't be showing up this year! Not after the mess up last time ey?" he asked with a wink.

"Why, what happened last year?" Steve asked, curious about his boyfriends life before he had entered it.

"Long story short he ended up in the jumping castle and Diane's kid threw up on him." Wayne explained, laughing as he did. "It was hilarious!"

"I was _pushed_ into that bouncy castle." Bernard replied accusingly. "Even as a child I avoided those things like the plague, it was like I knew that one day I would be thrown up on in one of them in the future. I was a childhood prodigy, clearly."

Steve couldn't help a small chuckle escape at the mental image of Bernard being thrown around inside a bouncy castle and unable to keep his balance. Then he got the patented Bernard glare and stopped, smiling meekly.

"And who is this?" Wayne asked, looking at Steve as if just noticing the dark skinned man was there.

"Sigh." Bernard said aloud and gestured a hand. "This is Steven Tibbs. My boyfriend. Steve, this is Wayne Scott."

"Oohhh so _this_ is Wayne Scott!" Steve grinned as he reached and took Wayne's offered hand, shaking it.

"Heard of me?" Wayne asked as he shook his hand.

"Only good things." Steve replied.

"Now I _know_ you're lying." Wayne replied before letting go. "Still, great to see you got Bernard to attend! You two have fun. See you!" he gave a short wave and walked off, presumably to shake more peoples hands since it felt like it was the only thing he did at these sorts of things.

"Only good things?" Bernard echoed, giving Steve a dead eyed look.

"Now I couldn't be honest and tell him about how much of an ass you think he is. Speaking of, have you seen his? God _damn_." Steve said, standing on his toes, eyes following after Wayne's retreating back.

"Yes. It is an ass crafted by angels no doubt inspired by an ass of the gods of ages past." Bernard replied dryly before moving to turn away but found himself face to face with somebody else, but at least somebody he actually enjoyed the company of. And if you knew Bernard as well as Steve did, you would know just how great an honour this was. "Roxanne. Thank God, a sane person."

"Roxanne?" Steve turned, and saw that it was indeed Roxanne. She was wearing a lovely red summer dress and a white sun hat. "Oh so this is Roxanne!"

"Bernard! I'm surprised to see you here!" Roxanne admitted, "And you must be Steve!"

"Bernie are you telling all your friends about me?" Steve asked with a smile before taking Roxanne's hand, kissing the back of it. "Pleasure meeting you at last, Roxanne. Now you I've heard good things about, though I hear you're a bit of a tart?"

"_Bernie_?" Roxanne asked, too amused to care that Bernard would call her a tart behind her back.

"Please don't call me that or I will have to kill you with staples alone." Bernard warned.

"Haha, deal." Roxanne held up her hands in a surrender kind of way. "This thing's certainly more packed then I thought it would be... nice venue, though."

The Autumn Family BBQ Picnic was being held at a large sports community centre, large enough to fit over three hundred employees of the company with their partners and children (if they had any). Outside on the field where foot ball games were normally played was where all the BBQs were set up, a bouncing castle (or two), some face painting, and activity spots for the kids to entertain themselves while their parents talked and drank. In moderation, of course, since too much talking could kill you.

"It's the same one they used last time." Bernard said as the trio began walking, moving in-between the crowds of people.

"Have you seen Megamind and Minion yet?" Roxanne asked.

Bernard shrugged his shoulders. "They're normally easy to spot, they're the guys sitting at a table by themselves and nobody talking to them."

"That seems kind of mean." Steve said, "What did they do to deserve such a cold treatment from everyone?"

"One? They're aliens. Two? They're loners by default. Three? It's fun to see." Bernard explained, "Megamind is so socially inept it's a wonder he's lasted this long." he added before taking another drink.

"He isn't _that_ bad." Roxanne said, to which Bernard gave her a disbelieving look accompanied with eyebrows raised so high they appeared to vanish into the mass that was his hair. She pursed her lips together, realizing that nobody in the office knew that she lived a floor below the two aliens, or that they had been talking together a little more often then usual. Especially when leaving work, since they would walk together and talk about work and all manner of things. "I mean, for being. You know. Him."

"True. He could go postal any day for all we know. I hope I'm not in the office when that happens, but I'd settle for watching footage on the news." Bernard smirked.

"You can be _such_ a bitch!" Roxanne exclaimed with a laugh, before looking to Steve. "How do you put up with him?"

"He makes me laugh." Steve replied with a pleased little smile. "And he _is_ a bitch."

"Okay we're venturing into the information that is too much for her precious little mind to handle," Bernard said quickly, putting a hand to Steve's chest and pushing him back gently but his hand lingered there as he turned his head to Roxanne. "If you're wondering Mr Wayne took off in that direction. Show him your pretty little dress. Tell me how it goes." with that he led Steve away, who waved to Roxanne as they went.

Roxanne watched them go, unable to help a small chuckle as they did. She had never seen two vastly different people like Bernard and Steve being together, but it somehow worked. Like how opposites attracted with magnets and that horrible song from the 80's. Glancing around she headed off into the crowd, seeking out any other familiar faces. She found them in the form of the girls she worked with and settled herself in their little table and they talked about the local news, and how the picnic was going so far.

"Well they haven't set up the karaoke yet, if they had Megamind would be up there already." Pina said as she picked on a hotdog in her hands.

"Karaoke?" Roxanne asked.

"They set it up in a room just off to the side, through there. Just so little kids don't happen to walk in while somebody's singing something with a swear word in it." explained another woman, named Lilly. "You know, can't have the little ones hearing the word damn or anything harsher."

"And Megamind sings?" Roxanne couldn't get the mental image of him belting out 'Don't stop Believin' at the top of his lungs to an audience of only Minion and nobody else. It made her both amused, but also sad at the same time.

"Oh honey, you can't drag him off the stage once he's on there. He does it all, Elvis, Queen, Ozzy Osborn, AC/DC, David Bowie... you're lucky if he gets off the stage before someone has to literally drag him or he looses his voice like last time." explained Pina. "Uh oh. Look." she pointed across the crowded room and all the women sat up a little straighter.

Some technical looking guys were walking through the crowd, and vanished into the room that had the sign 'Company Karaoke!' taped to the top of the door.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the two of them are waiting in there already." Lilly said.

Roxanne watched as the technician guys left the room and watched how a small crowd drifted into the room. She didn't see Megamind or Minion amongst them, which made Lilly's statement about them already being in there a high possibility. Megamind didn't seem the type to want to take place in a large gathering at the best of times, and if he was as into singing on a karaoke machine as these people had told her, why would he be anywhere else?

Excusing herself, Roxanne left the table behind and made her way through to the karaoke room. Sure enough there was the machine hooked up two large speakers on either side of a small stage. Behind the stage was a screen that showed various colors to coincide with the song being played that had the words being displayed on a tiny screen set in front of the stage.

Multiple microphones sat on the stage on stands, awaiting use.

And there in the middle of it all, was just as Lilly predicted. She could see the back of Minion's dome from here, and he was flipping through a book that listed all the songs available by order of artist. Megamind was fiddling with the machine, as if doubly making sure that it was wired up properly.

"They have the bass plugged into the tremor my God these people are complete idiots..." she could hear his muttering from here as he fiddled more with the back wiring of the machine.

Those who had gathered and entered the room didn't seem like they were wanting to sing, more like sit back and watch the act. Which, for Roxanne, was pleasing to learn that Megamind and Minion weren't just singing to themselves and nobody else. She saw one guy get a camera out. "What's that for?" she asked him.

"Last year Megs tried a stage dive. Only nobody was moshing so he ended up on the floor. It was hilarious!" he replied with a grin as he set up his camera on its tripod. "It's on Youtube, you should check it out."

"I'll pass." Roxanne mumbled.

"All right!" Megamind announced as he hopped up onto the stage, and Roxanne finally got a good hard look at what he was wearing. At first she thought he was just wearing a cape that looked like he had stolen it from a vampire in a cheesy horror movie but now she saw he was decked from head to toe in... leather. Very tight fitting leather that hugged his slender body in a way she was sure nobody in the audience appreciated. His boots would make Kiss lead singer Gene Simmons proud, and he had a lightning bolt running down over his right eye, which was exactly the same that was on his chest and torso.

"Oh my God what is he wearing?" Roxanne asked, putting a hand to her mouth.

"Ahh, you new to these little shows?" asked a girl who worked on another floor, one of those drop dead gorgeous ones with perfect curls and green eyes. "He wears this every year. Like he's trying to imagine he's a rock star or something."

Roxanne found that both adorable, and pathetic at the same time. She suddenly realized at some point during he conversation she had sat down.

"Good afternoon Metro Cover employees!" Minion suddenly announced into a microphone. There was a single person clapping towards the back. "Yes, thank you. You're too kind. Now we'll be taking requests soon but our opening number comes courtesy of one of the greatest rock musicians of our time, a gentleman we like to call Mister David Bowie."

There was that one person clapping again as the illuminated screen behind Megamind shifted its coloring to pure white, probably taking a nod from the music video. Now that lightning bolt on his face made sense if he had purposely done it so he could sing this one song in particular.

In came that piano opening, and Megamind grabbed the microphone closest to him and took a deep breath and he sang.

Roxanne had been all but prepared for him to sing incredibly off key and high pitched. She had expected him to get words wrong, or sing off tune. While he wasn't the most talented voice she had ever heard, he still had talent. Anyone who could get David Bowie right had to be at least good, and she found herself sitting and watching in silence as he, and Minion (who joined in) sang the song against the white background while totally ignoring the screen in front of them that displayed the words.

She ended up sitting there all throughout the little performance, and all those that followed. He and Minion sang any number of songs by well-known artists ranging from 1950's all the way to the more recent songs. Megamind moved around the small stage, owning it like a professional and she couldn't help but laugh at the times when he would swing his hips, attempting to be sexual and only coming off as a kid who didn't know what he was doing at all.

"Figured I'd find you here." Bernard's voice surprised her, and she turned to see him sitting behind her, accompanied by Steve as well. "Oh God. The spandex is back." he said, once spotting Megamind on stage.

"Look at his ass, it's so tiny!" Steve squeaked, clapping his hands together as if it was Christmas.

"I know. He's built like a stack of pencils." Bernard commented.

"Wonder what his junk looks like." Steve mumbled, brushing a finger over his lips in thought.

"I am mentally scarred and horrified that you would say that out loud and in my presence." Bernard said, eye twitching at his partner in irritation.

Roxanne stopped herself from pointing out that she, like Steve, wondered the same thing. She never saw Megamind wearing anything this figure hugging before, and he certainly didn't have any 'sock' pushed down there... at least as far as she could see. He was an alien, she somehow kept forgetting this when in his presence, so maybe he was anatomically different to them? But how different? Was he smooth? Was it internal?

"Oh my God you're thinking about his junk aren't you?" Bernard asked, and for the first time in knowing him Roxanne was certain she heard actual emotion in his voice. He sounded surprised.

"What? No! I am not, don't be rude! Are you thinking about it?" she asked, shoving at Bernard's shoulder as she did.

"Why would I care what some alien dick looks like?" Bernard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sshhhh." someone behind them hissed.

"Oh shh yourself Alex." Bernard said back.

"Maybe we should go." Roxanne mumbled, not really wanting to but if Bernard and Steve wanted to talk it didn't seem fair to do so while Megamind was singing on stage.

"I need air." Bernard announced as he stood up and called out. "Sing Free Bird!" before walking out of the room, followed by Steve and Roxanne.

She never noticed how Megamind watched her leave, or the saddened expression that crossed his face as she did. But he had a song to sing, and stopping to chase after a girl who obviously had better things to do wasn't a good idea. So he kept singing.

"He's quite the little super star isn't he?" Steve asked as he tossed his can of soda into the nearest bin.

"He sounds like he should be on a gong show somewhere, especially in that outfit." Bernard said with a smile. "Seriously he looked like Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons and Blue Man Group had an orgy and had a baby."

"Is my lil' buddy singing his heart out again to a semi-packed room full of people?" Wayne, who had somehow snuck up on the trio, asked as he introduced himself to the conversation.

"As usual." Bernard replied dryly, already wishing the man was off talking to somebody else.

"Wow Roxy, that dress looks amazing on you." Wayne said, as he turned his attention to the shorthaired woman who he hadn't run into before now. "New?"

"Oh, um. Yes." she blushed and smoothed out front of her red dress. "I thought, it's my first work function I might as well look good."

"You don't look good, you look great! Doesn't she?" Wayne asked the two other men.

"It makes her boobs look huge. Of course it's great." Bernard said, and smiled faintly when he saw how just red Roxanne's face turned to match her dress.

Steve smacked his partners' arm. "Well I think it looks great on you, I meant to tell you before but we were too wrapped up in the majesty of the day weren't we?" he asked.

"Mmh." Roxanne replied, rubbing at her nose in an effort to push the blush from her face.

"C'mon Roxy, I hear they're finishing up the burgers soon and I don't know about you but I want to be first in line before they all go." Wayne said and put a hand to the small of her back and began to guide her away. Roxanne, having far too many emotions whirling around inside her mind to make sense of a single sentence, merely nodded and made an off squeaky agreement noise.

Bernard and Steve watched the two walk off, and Bernard scoffed.

"What was that for?" Steve asked, arching a brow.

"Her panties will be on the floor of his apartment in two hours flat." Bernard said before taking another drink of his soda, which probably had more then just soda in it by now.

"Oh come on you said this girl was smart." Steve said, surprised. "I mean, she's magically avoided Hal for the whole duration of this gathering..." he added, glancing around to see if he could spot the red head but so far no luck. And a good thing, if what he had heard about him from Bernard was even only half true.

"I also said she's been pining after this guy since she started. The whole past month I've seen her try to start conversations with him, agree with him over things... Roxanne's smart, I _admit_ that. But she's also a woman who wants something and she's come across to me as a woman who gets what she wants when she wants it. And right now, she wants Wayne. She'll get him, no doubt. But then she'll regret it. You'll see." Bernard explained, turning to Steve and placed an arm around his shoulders. "I've seen it happen so many times at this kind of thing, you'll see it too. It's like I should organize a club of women Wayne's banged and abandoned but if I do I think it would include all single female workers in this place and then that would be just sad. Impressive, but sad."

Steve sighed, and shook his head. The two walked off to deposit the remainders of their drinks and get the Hell out of there before the company boss makes his long winded hour long speech.

Naturally the speech did drag on, the man dressed in a suit despite it being a Sunday, stood on an elevated platform and spoke into a microphone about how happy he was at the turn out and he congratulated them all on a good job well done at the party, and with their job. Thankfully the speech came at the end, and already it was fairly late in the day. Most had already left since by seven most kids were getting grumpy and fussy, and nobody wanted noisy kids around at this time of day.

Roxanne, feeling as though she was in a perpetual dream state, was sitting with Wayne and they were listening. All the while Wayne made little side comments to Roxanne, making her laugh and cover her mouth before she become too loud and draw attention to them.

Across the packed hall, standing up against a wall, were Megamind and Minion. While Minion was watching the big boss drone on and doing his best to seem interested, Megamind's eyes were on the woman in red and the man in white. He watched as Wayne kept leaning over to whisper into Roxanne's ear, when a finger would trail on her jaw line or a hand covered one of hers.

The speech at an end, Wayne got up from his chair and said something to Roxanne that Megamind couldn't hear, and was probably best not hearing since the woman laughed and took his hand. The two left the hall together, and were gone.

"Sir? Didn't you hear me? I said we should get going if we're to beat everyone out of here." Minion, who had diligently remained by his friend side, nudged the skinny blue alien's shoulder with an elbow.

"Doesn't matter." Megamind mumbled as he turned away from Minion and made his way back to the karaoke room.

"...Sir?" Minion, who hadn't spotted Roxanne and Wayne, was confused. What had brought on this mood? He followed after him and by the time he reached the empty room he found his friend sitting on the stage, nursing a microphone in his hand. "Sir what is-"

"I just want one more." the alien mumbled as a guitar began to slowly string a tune over the speakers. A drum and an electric guitar soon joined it, as did a saxophone.

Minion stood in the door way awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. But then he heard the lyrics, and chose it was better to not say anything. So in the silence of the karaoke room, thankfully abandoned by his co-workers, muffled only by the sound of heavy foot traffic outside Megamind sang quietly, more to himself then to anyone else.

_I call her on the telephone__  
__But she is hardly ever home__  
__I know she's got a lovin' man__  
__And so I see her when I can___

_Roxanne will always be my friend__  
__And that's the way I'll keep her love___

_I think she's pretty as a rose__  
__I take her out and buy her clothes__  
__I'd like to take her home with me__  
__But I must wait until she's free___

_Roxanne will always be my friend__  
__And that's the way I'll keep her love___

_I'd love to touch her when we walk__  
__I love to listen to her talk__  
__The way I feel I can't explain__  
__But I will wait for her again___

_Roxanne will always be my friend__  
__And that's the way I'll keep her love_

The music continued to play, a saxophone and harmonica with the guitars and drums but Megamind tossed the microphone away and hopped off the stage and walked up to his friend. He said nothing, but Minion knew it was now time to go.

They'd learn the next morning if anything happened or not, no doubt. If not from Roxanne, then from the gossipers who whispered and e-mailed their way through the company since if Megamind had noticed the two leave together, no doubt many others did.

No doubt he'd hear it, whether he wanted to or not. 


	6. Chapter 6

Her breath was warm and hot against his cheek, coupled with a soft touch to his collarbone by her gentle fingers drew out a long, laboured breath from his partly open mouth. He could feel her body pressing against his own, no longer restricted to be kept apart because of pointless clothes that had been long abandoned and thrown to the floor. Those soft, luscious lips found his panting mouth and they kissed so passionately he could feel the flames of lust licking at his very being, causing his arms to grasp at her beautiful skin, pulling her closer still.

She moaned his name hotly into his mouth before her tongue snaked in, gliding past his teeth to press against his own tongue, drawing it out from the cavern of his mouth to dance together between the two of them.

His hands gripped at her upper back, his nails far too short to leave any marks on her perfect skin and for that he was thankful. Her legs pressed against either side of his hips and then she was everywhere, breathing hard, mouth open, and chest flush against his own.

And then he woke up.

Megamind lay in his bed, flat on his back and very much alone. His green eyes squinted for a moment, adjusting to the morning light that was filtering through his window and he wondered where Roxanne was. For a moment he thought maybe she was in the bathroom, but then reality dealt him a crushing blow by reminding him that Roxanne had gone home with Wayne Scott from the BBQ the night before. She wasn't in his apartment, she wasn't probably even in the whole apartment block.

He sat up in his bed and rubbed at his eyes before climbing out and stood up and walked up to his mirror in his bedroom and jumped back when he saw himself. It seemed as though he hadn't properly removed the blue lightning bolt painted over his face since it had smeared something awful.

Looking over his shoulder he saw the blue paint smeared over his white bed sheets. Normally this would send him into an angry rant over how he would not have to do his washing but this fine morning all he did was grunt in its general direction.

"...so I think we've improved greatly since last year, Sir." Minion was talking about something as they were walking down the nine layers of stairs in order to exit the building that morning. Megamind wasn't really listening, his mind far from thinking over their karaoke singing the day before. He knew his friend was trying to keep him occupied, to keep his mind off of what he had witnessed.

Yet still the image of Roxanne leaving the party with Wayne was well and truly imbedded in his mind. The way her arm was looped with his, her other hand holding her sun hat in place and the way she was laughing with him. She never laughed with him like that, but then again he wasn't incredibly handsome nor did he get along with people as well as Wayne did.

As they exited the building to the street outside Megamind felt his feet come to a stop, and he just stood there.

"I don't want to go to work." Megamind announced, despite having showered and dressed, all ready for work.

Minion looked sadly to his friend, before bending at the knees slightly in order to fix Megamind's tie, which was well and truly crooked. "Sir, we've never missed a day of work before. It would do no good to do so now."

"What difference does it make, Minion?" he asked as he solemnly watched his friend adjust his tie. "We work and work and work but nobody seems to really care about it."

"The team leaders care, and the big boss. Our output of work makes everyone else's look miniscule. Have you seen the width of our envelopes at the end of the day? They're like telephone books compared to their cheesy romance novel thick ones." the fish said before standing up, and placed his hand to the alien's back. "Come on Sir. We've got a job to do."

Megamind sighed loudly, nodded, and the two began their trek to work.

Once there Megamind walked straight past everyone and turned on his computer, pulling out his computing glasses and sliding them on as he waited for the soft glow of the computer to bathe his face. His cubicle was clustered as always, but it was an organized mess. He had an in box, and out tray, a stack of folders waiting to be filled, invoices awaiting photocopying and sending to case managers upstairs, and all manner of things.

He, like many people on the floor, had photographs and little nick knacks on display around his desk. There were photos of him and Minion from the years past, showing them with a bunch of burly, tattooed men, some others of them in a photo booth together and assorted other photos. A new one he had put up was one of him and Roxanne, taken at the last morning tea for the floor in celebration of nothing but wanting to another morning tea.

Despite the flash of the camera reflecting in his glasses, and the red eyes Roxanne had, it was his only photo of her. He stared at it, before reaching up and touched her smiling face.

"Tough break blue balls." Hal's voice made Megamind jump, and he spun in his chair.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"About Roxy." the red head said as he was sorting through the mail that would be going into Meegamind's in box. "We all saw her go off with Wayne last night. Poor girl's in denial, doesn't realize she's missed out on a good thing here." Hal was obviously referring to himself, and Megamind rolled his eyes in an exasperated kind of way.

"You think you really have a chance with Roxanne, Hal?" Megamind asked. "What would she see in you anyway? You're the office creeper, you lurk around corners and you're always asking the girls to hug you. It's not funny, it's creepy, so just give me my mail and go, mail drone." he snapped, holding his hand out to the red head with an irritated expression on his face.

Hal frowned, and tossed the alien's papers into his hands.

"You know I always expected alien life to be more awesome." Hal said.

"You and me both." Megamind snapped back as he sorted through his mail, not hearing Hal leave.

"Now Sir, I know you're in a bad mood but that's no reason to pick on Hal. No matter how creepy he is." Minion's voice came from over the partition that separated them.

"He had it coming." Megamind replied quietly.

They had long since settled down and both working on their work trays that morning by the time eight thirty came around, and who else but Wayne Scott came by for his early morning howdy do to everyone. Megamind bunkered down at his desk and tried to look as busy as possible, but it was kind of difficult since the computer was running slow on account of it being Monday and the office computers always ran slow on Mondays.

"Good morning you two!" Wayne greeted, coffee in hand. "Heard you two knocked everyone's socks off with your karaoke yesterday!"

"Ngh." Megamind replied.

"Thank you Mr Scott," Minion piped up, standing up so he could see the man over the cubicle wall. "And I heard you did well in the office sack race!"

"As always my fine fishy friend." Wayne replied with a grin. "Anyway, best move along. Catch you two later!" with that he walked off, and Minion peered over to look down at Megamind who was still sitting far too close to his computer to be healthy.

"What." Megamind said, not needing to tear his eyes away from the screen to look at Minion, whom he knew was looking at him.

"Well well." Bernard, who had wandered up to the two, leaned against the old photocopier. "Looks like somebody's in an eternally cheery mood." he said in his most dry, sarcastic, unenthusiastic way possible.

"Oh yes." Megamind said exasperatedly, "I am in the best mood. Truly. This is the best day ever!" he said sarcastically as he got up out of his chair to glare at Bernard.

"So I guess you spotted Roxanne going home with the office tart last night too." Bernard commented, not needing to ask.

"How do you know? You weren't even there." Megamind grumbled.

"Already heard the gossip from the girls. You know them. They just love spreading rumours and gossip like a farmer spreading manure." Bernard said before taking a pointed sip of his coffee.

"Yes well. It's none of my business. It's none of anyone's business." Megamind said quietly before moving back to his seat.

"Come now. Aren't you a little curious as to whether or not Roxanne's joined the league of Women Wayne Scott Has Slept With?" Bernard asked.

"No." came Megamind's gritted reply.

"Pity. The committee's thinking of printing t-shirts this year." Bernard replied with a smirk before walking off.

"I hate that man." Megamind grumbled.

"Feeling's mutual!" Bernard called from somewhere.

"Sir, please. Let's not turn this into an office rivalry. Remember the last time that happened? We were duct taped to the flag pole outside all lunch and it was-Miss Ritchi...!" he gasped the last part and he could practically hear Megamind tripping over his chair in order to look out over the cubicle walls.

Sure enough there she was, and arriving late. It was quarter to nine. She was wearing her usual business gear, a skirt and blouse, and she looked fairly well rested if not embarrassed that she was late. Both Minion and Megamind watched as she made her way across the office floor to her team and sat down. They could hardly hear the girls welcoming her, and the questions they were no doubt answering.

"...she looks good." Minion commented quietly.

"Of course she looks good." Megamind replied stiffly. "She had her brains banged out last night. How would you feel?"

"I'd have a headache, Sir." Minion replied with a small smile, trying to get a smile from his friend.

It didn't work.

Megamind eased back into his desk. "I just pray she doesn't talk about it on the walk home today." he mumbled.

"I'm sure she's above that, Sir." Minion said, though he too hoped desperately that she wouldn't talk about whatever had happened between her and Wayne. While he knew women were the type to gossip about things, would she truly gossip about it with her two male friends? One of which, he might add, had a crush on her the size of the planet? It would be in poor taste and he knew he couldn't keep quiet about it if he saw his friend suffering because of her words.

Promise or not, Minion's job was to protect Megamind. Protecting him meant also protecting him from being hurt emotionally and if Roxanne was going to hypothetically stab him in the heart and twist the dagger then he would do his job.

As the day wore on, Megamind remained glued to his desk. He didn't even leave for his half hour lunch with Minion, so the fish made his way over to Roxanne who was eating her lunch at her desk.

"Hello Miss Ritchi!" he greeted.

"Oh, Minion! Hi! Gosh I haven't come by to see you guys yet have I?" she asked, setting her tuna sandwich down and suddenly feeling very bad for eating fish in front of a talking fish.

"That's fine, I know we can all get busy in this place. Especially on Mondays. All these people who end up hurting themselves over the weekend, I mean who knew people were this clumsy?" the fish asked with a grin, setting his hands on his hips.

"I know right?" Roxanne asked with a soft chuckle.

"Sooooooo..." Minion started, "We didn't really get to talk yesterday did we? Like ships in an ocean!"

"Yeah, but I saw you two on stage. You really get into it don't you?" she asked, leaning back in her seat.

"Not as much as Sir does. He loves to sing, and karaoke is one of the only times he can do it and get away with it." the fish explained.

"When is the other time?" Roxanne asked.

"Rock Star." Minion replied, before adding, "It's a video game where you sing or play an instrument with the game system. Sir is very good at it, he's got high scores on all of them. I can barely get by seventy eight percent." he chuckled.

"Oh, well. That's good. It's nice to see he has a hobby outside of... well. His other hobbies." she grinned.

"You mean he has hobbies outside of being an alien?" Bernard, who also was on break, had made his way over to Roxanne.

"Being an alien isn't a hobby, it's what he is." Minion replied stiffly, turning his nose (or where it would be) up at Bernard. He didn't appreciate the man's attitude most of the time, but he tried to be polite for polite's sake.

"Roxanne." Bernard turned to the woman, ignoring the fish. "So how's Wayne?"

Her face turned blood red. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Don't act so coy." Bernard went on, grinning. "Everyone saw you two leave together. So? Did he blow your mind or did he barely make it over the first speed bump?"

Minion felt he should leave, and quickly, yet he found himself simply standing there and waiting to hear her answer.

"Whatever happened, Bernie, is the business of both myself and Wayne. And certainly not that for office gossips to whisper and giggle about." she said, narrowing an eye.

"You're not even going to tell me if you slept with him or not?" Bernard asked, looking relatively surprised (and that meant just a twitch of his left eyebrow).

"Sorry, no." Roxanne replied.

"Oh you slut you so did. I can tell." smirked Bernard. "You have that same expression all the women Wayne leaves parties with has. The kind of look of a woman who is trying to keep something secret and failing miserably at it. So what's the secret? Is he lousy in bed? If so that would so make my life to know Mr Big Shot finishes the race right after exiting the stables and before everyone else."

Roxanne was both embarrassed and angry with this, but held her tongue as she just looked at Bernard. He, hardly looked phased, and still waited patiently for her answer to his question.

"Uh. Mr Dunnings I really don't think it's any of your business whether or not Miss Ritchi and Mr Scott... er... fornicated." the fish spoke up finally. "Some things are best left to those who know the truth."

"That's the problem with you fish, you have no curious streak in you at all. How boring. Well either way Roxy, felt I should let you know that already everyone thinks you two banged boots so no matter what you say it will hardly matter. Feel better now?" Bernard asked Roxanne, folding his arms over his chest.

"No, not really." Roxanne replied.

"Told you this place was Hell." Bernard said before turning and walking away to enjoy his lunch.

"Yeah. I can see why." she mumbled before leaning forward on her desk, head in her hands.

Minion was still standing there fairly awkwardly, and swallowed quietly.

"Miss Ritchi, Sir and I was wondering..." he started,

"Great. Are you two thinking I slept with Wayne too?" she asked.

"No Miss. I was going to ask, since you've been visiting us and watching us play video games, I figure tonight you should join us! We have a spare controller, we could all get a game out and enjoy it together. It certainly feels like to me you need a game where you destroy bad guys. What do you say?" Minion asked, grinning widely. "It's really cathartic."

Roxanne sat there, thinking this over. She had seen Megamind and Minion play their way through horror, Lego's, first person shooters, and simple puzzle games when she would go to their place to simply hang out yet she had never played any with them.

"Hm. I'll get back to you, but it sounds pretty good." Roxanne smiled.

"Oh good!" Minion smiled and saluted to her before walking off, heading back to his desk and settled back behind the walls of his cubicle. "Don't worry Sir, things are going to get better soon." he said, but when he got no answer he slowly stood up to check and he saw that Megamind was gone.

"Sir?" he asked, looking around the office but saw no sign of the blue alien. Maybe he had gone to the toilet? That would make sense, but then why hadn't he put up 'Away from my desk' sign on the back of his chair like he always did? Even his glasses were there, sitting innocently on the keyboard awaiting his return.

Minion, fighting the urge to go bounding into the men's room in search of his friend, sat back down at his desk and just waited.

After half an hour, Megamind still hadn't returned to his desk. Minion, now well and truly worried, got to his feet and walked around to his friend's cubicle and checked to see if there was any clue as to where he had gone. Sadly, there wasn't. Frowning, Minion left the cubicle and went to the men's room. He found it empty, and smelly as always.

"Miss Ritchi?" Minion approached Roxanne, who had just gotten off the phone with somebody.

"Minion?" she asked.

"Have you seen Sir anywhere? He hasn't been at his desk for a whole half hour and I'm a little worried." the fish admitted, tapping his fingers together.

"No? Maybe he wanted to get some air." Roxanne suggested, but judging by the look on Minion's face that was a poor suggestion. "...yeah you're right, he never likes fresh air." she concluded, before stroking her chin. "Hm. You've checked the toilets?"

"Yes Miss, both males and females." Minion reported.

"Huh? Both? Why would he go into the females?" she asked.

"Doesn't hurt to check and technically I'm both male and female so I could go in any one if I wanted." the fish replied with a shrug of his robotic shoulders. "But now I'm really worried. Sir was in a kind of grumpy mood today, he even said he didn't want to come into work today!"

"I know that feeling." Roxanne mumbled, but sat up more in her seat when Minion gave her an odd look. "Anyway. Where does he like to go in the city?" she asked.

"Well. He likes the food court down on Lava Place, but he also frequents Fox Stop Comics where we get all of our comics. There's also Metro Gaming Centre where we pick up our video games but there's nothing coming in for either of us for another few weeks." Minion explained before tapping a finger against his glass, looking progressively worried. "I could call them and see if Sir is there..."

"There's an idea. Maybe he got caught up talking to someone or looking at a new game and forgot what time it is." Roxanne offered, "You go and call them, and I'll ask around if anyone's spotted him." she watched the fish hurry off towards his cubicle and sat back a moment. Roxanne shouldn't be feeling any kind of worry, Megamind was an adult, and he could answer for his actions but why would he just take off in the middle of the workday?

What would he have to be grumpy about, anyway? Sighing, she got up and began to ask around if anyone had seen Megamind. Unsurprisingly the majority answer to the question was no, since nobody seemed to really be his friend outside of Minion and Roxanne, though she kept their friendship more hush hush then she probably should.

"How, or why, would I know where he is?" Bernard asked when Roxanne finally hunted him down outside the mailroom. "He's probably gotten his zipper stuck on his alien junk."

"Don't say that." Roxanne said quietly. "Minion's really worried."

Bernard glanced over to where the two cubicles sat side by side, and he saw the fish exiting his cubicle and walking around like a mother trying to find her lost child. Deep, deep, deep down within Bernard a little voice wondered if Megamind was upset because of all the talk about Roxanne and Wayne. A louder voice told that smaller voice to shut the Hell up because it was none of their business.

He looked back to Roxanne.

"Maybe he decided to finally take an hour lunch. You know. Live a little. Let his non-existent hair down and chose to not inform the fish so he could be on his own for once." Bernard said with a shrug of his shoulders. "It's not our business and it's not like he's been missing twenty four hours yet."

"I know that. But it's still wrong to go missing in the middle of the day. If he's not back by one someone will have to tell his team leader." Roxanne pointed out.

"I'm sure Nathan will love that." Bernard commented to himself as he cast a glance at a man with a purple tie that was talking to a group of people. He turned back to Roxanne. "Tell you what. If it'll make you feel better I'll go downstairs and check the cafe down there. I need a new coffee anyway."

"Thanks Bernard, Minion'll really appreciate this." Roxanne smiled.

"I'm not doing this for a fish. I'm doing it for coffee." Bernard pointed out before heading off to get his coffee, and maybe also look for the little blue freak.

Downstairs at the base of the big black building that was Metro Cover was a tiny little cafe run by a bunch of Japanese men, inside they offered hot and cold drinks, snacks, cakes, savoury foods, and catering. Bernard groaned as he saw just how busy it was, naturally since it was only twelve forty. He went up and ordered a double mocha with two sugars before stepping back and looking around.

His eyes looked at every and any blue thing he could see, and he found himself staring at a guy with a blue shirt far longer then he should have before averting his eyes to look at a woman's blue backpack.

"Why am I doing this again?" he asked himself, leaning on the counter. "All I know he's been beamed up by other aliens and taken away forever. As if that would be a bad thing." Bernard muttered as he glanced around and spotted the person those upstairs were looking for.

Sure enough Megamind was outside near the smokers area. He was sitting amongst the trees that had been placed around the building, and looking fairly miserable. Bernard watched the alien sit there, and how anyone who passed him paused to peer at the strange alien before moving on. A fair few kids pointed and said things aloud which embarrassed their parents enough to shush them and hurry on past the alien before he pull out a weapon and kill them.

Now that was something Bernard wouldn't mind seeing.

Sadly no such thing happened. Megamind continued to sit there looking miserable for himself for a good while and finally, when Bernard got his coffee and started heading back to the lifts, he felt that the guy would still be there by the time he got upstairs but something was happening.

Wayne, who always went off for lunches, was returning. Megamind was suddenly on his feet and storming up to Wayne and was walking like an angry wife who just found her husband drunk on the bed. Bernard watched from the safety of the cafe as Megamind jabbed his finger into Wayne's arm, talking rapidly about something he couldn't hear or lip-read. Wayne looked surprised at first, then he laughed in his same Wayne manner before patting Megamind on the shoulder.

But Megamind pushed the hand off of him. The alien was clearly angry about something since he was talking a mile a minute to Wayne, causing people outside to stop and look at them as if they were a quarrelling couple.

Suddenly Megamind swung his fist and it connected with Wayne's jaw. But Wayne's head barely moved, and Megamind's anger slowly vanished from his face and was replaced with one of pain. The blue alien stepped back, grasping his sore right hand and buckled over. Wayne stood there, and made no move to help him up or even really look at him.

He said something, before making his way to the elevators and managed to get in one that had just begun to shut while surrounded by people who looked shocked at what they had just witnessed beyond the doors.

Bernard stood there, sipping his coffee, and watched as Megamind nursed his sore hand. After deliberating he gave off a long, hard sigh, before walking outside to where Megamind was still crumpled on the sidewalk like a trodden in piece of gum.

"That was like David and Goliath, only this time David sucked." Bernard said.

Megamind kept his eyes tightly shut, and said nothing to him.

"Honestly, what were you trying to achieve punching Wayne? Are you mad at him because Roxanne went home with him and not you?" he asked. "Why would Roxanne want to go home with you? You two bitch at each other like a pair of first graders all day long, you two didn't even exchange words yesterday since you were too busy living in your little fantasy world of where you're a rock star and you have fans that love and adore you. Roxanne's wanted Wayne since she first laid eyes on her, and nothing was going to change her opinion. Not even me, her sassy sarcastic gay boyfriend."

The blue alien turned his head away, hand still holding his sore one.

"You might be able to shut out the world with your video games, comics and nerd world but you can't shut out the truth. Roxanne went home with Wayne. Not you. Build a bridge, and get over it." Bernard said before turning and was about to walk off before he stopped, and looked over his shoulder at the alien who had barely moved. "You should just tell her you like her and get it over with. It won't hurt as badly. Sure it'll hurt, just not as bad as it does now."

With that he walked to the elevators, wondering if he would bother telling Roxanne and Minion that he saw Megamind punch Wayne in the jaw and ultimately break his hand. No doubt everyone would hear about it sooner then later but he'd hate to be the one to start stirring the pot. For one, he couldn't cook to save his life.

Megamind heard the elevators come and go, people exit and enter, yet still he stayed kneeling on the ground holding his sore hand.

"Why would she ever want to be with me anyway?" he asked finally, slowly moving his right fingers to see if he had any feeling in them and that the bones weren't powdered dust. "I'm hardly the type she'd be wanting to be with. Wayne is her type. Not me." Megamind continued. "I'm just her friend, if that. Nothing more, nothing less." carefully he got to his feet and gingerly moved his hand. It seemed his accelerated recovery rate was working since his hand didn't feel like he had punched a wall anymore.

"Sir! There you are!" Minion declared the second Megamind stepped out onto the floor, and threw his robotic arms around the alien. "You didn't tell me you were going to have an extended lunch break today!"

"Oh, how 'bout that?" Megamind asked weakly, wriggling free of the fish's embrace and not feeling any hint of embarrassment that a fair few people had seen it. "I'm sorry Minion. I guess I was just caught up with... feeling things I forgot." had Wayne told them? Had he told anyone about his outburst to him downstairs about how callous and shallow he was for taking women home then acting as though nothing had happened the day after? Would he tell everyone how he had tried to punch his face when Wayne had told him off about being mad about Roxanne going with him?

He prayed he hadn't.

Megamind found himself at his cubicle shortly after, having received an email from the floor manager telling him that next time he wanted an hours lunch he would have to put in notice for it since now he would have to work an extra half hour tomorrow to make up for the time he used for lunch today. Understanding, Megamind had replied with an apology and a statement that it would never happen again.

"Sir, I... uh... I have something to tell you." Minion spoke up towards the end of the day.

"Yes?" Megamind asked as he continued typing away at his computer screen.

"Miss Ritchi is going to be coming home with us tonight. She's interested in finally playing some video games!" the fish said enthusiastically, unaware that this bit of news had managed to make Megamind make an error in his calculations and have to backspace and do them again. "Isn't that great? We've never played with a third person before!"

The blue alien sat at his desk, eyes wide with both horror and absolute joy.

She was coming home with him. AND she was going to play video games with him.

Maybe today wasn't going to be so bad after all.


	7. Chapter 7

"I wonder why Mr Scott didn't come to chat today." Minion said as he was clearing up his work at the end of the day, having made photocopies of documents and invoices that had to be sent over to the large father company of Metro Cover along with all the others from across the company.

"Hm." Megamind grunted as he slid his glasses off and slipped them into his case. He might admit to punching Wayne at some point to his friend but he knew better then to say it now not only because they were still in the office where anyone could over hear, but Roxanne would be coming over to their place this evening and if Minion was still angry at him for striking the 'nice guy' of the office it would make it quite awkward.

"Are you all right Sir, you're very quiet. Still in a grumpy mood?" Minion asked as he walked out of his cubicle, waiting for Megamind to join him. "You surely don't want to be in a bad mood when Miss Ritchi comes over!"

"Oh, no. No, I do not want to be. I'm sorry." Megamind apologised once he knew his computer had properly logged off and walked with Minion to the elevators where most of the other workers stood awaiting their escape from the company.

Bernard was there, talking to somebody named Lee, and he seemed fairly amused judging by the way one of his eyebrows was raised. But when Megamind and Minion approached his expression shifted to that of his usual look, boredom. He heaved a heavy sigh.

An elevator door opened and a good chunk of the people squeezed in, leaving little to no room for the two aliens.

"Oh, no worries we'll get the next one!" Minion assured them, despite having neither seen concern on anyone's face at leaving them behind. The doors shut, and Minion pressed the down button again.

"There you guys are!" Roxanne announced, having just gotten out of the ladies at the end of the day, as she approached the two. "I was almost afraid I'd missed you."

"Hard to fit into a lift with no room." Megamind replied meekly, hands in his pockets.

"Man I think that's lousy when they do that to you, or anyone really. Cram in as many people and just give those of us left a look." Roxanne scoffed, adjusting her shoulder bag strap.

"You get used to it." Megamind admitted as the elevator door opened which was empty. The trio got in and Minion hit the G button.

"Looking forward to your first foray into video games since childhood, Miss Ritchi?" Minion asked cheerily as the lift lurched down towards the ground.

"Mmm!" she nodded, "I kind of am. What kind of games do you two have in mind for me?"

"That's the mystery," Megamind interrupted, moving his hands in a mysterious manner. "When you come to our apartment you shall be at our mercy! The anticipation! It must be excruciating!" he grinned at her as the doors opened up on the ground floor.

Stepping out of the building they began heading towards their apartment block when they found their way blocked by somebody. Wayne. Megamind's face automatically drained of color and he took a step back so he was slightly behind Minion.

"Ah Roxanne there you are." Wayne smiled at her, totally ignoring the two aliens besides her. "I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner tonight, at Conroy's?"

Conroy's was the five star restaurant that normally took months in advance to book a table at. Numerous times in the newspapers in the gossip section you would see the city's celebrities dining there, enjoying themselves and the atmosphere it created.

Roxanne's eyes widened in surprise, a blush smothering her face rapidly. "Conroy's?" she asked, her face breaking out into a surprised smile. "Oh that...!" but then she saw Minion and Megamind standing there besides her, the fish looking a little apprehensive and Megamind's expression she had no idea about since he was behind Minion. Being a girl, she would have loved to go to Conroy's but at the same time, being a friend, she had made a promise to these two besides her.

"Well?" Wayne asked, giving her that patented smile of his that normally got him exactly what he wanted.

"Look, I'd love to." she started, but before she could continue Megamind began walking again, past Minion and Roxanne and going around Wayne as if he were contaminated. "Megamind-" Roxanne called out but the blue alien was well and truly gone.

"Sir!" Minion called after him, before looking to Roxanne. "It's all right Miss Ritchi, I understand, so does Sir. You have fun!" he said before hurrying around Wayne, pausing to only briefly give the man a hard-edged glare, before rushing on after his friend.

Wayne watched the two go, before looking back to Roxanne, smiling triumphantly. "So when can I expect to pick you up?" he asked.

"Never." Roxanne replied. "I'd love to go, but I already promised those two that I was going to spend the evening with them playing video games."

"...playing what?" Wayne asked, unsure if he had heard her correctly or not.

"Video games. We're neighbours and I like going over there to talk, and tonight they offered to let me play video games and since I haven't in years I'm looking forward to it. Look, I appreciate you asking me to Conroy's but next time? Try to ask me in advance. I'm not about to wipe my schedule clean for you." Roxanne said sternly.

"But I thought after last night-" Wayne started, but stopped when Roxanne stepped forward and put a hand to his mouth.

"Don't. Just don't assume things. I'll see you tomorrow Wayne." she whispered warningly, before stepping back and walked around him at a hurried pace to catch up with Megamind and Minion and explain what was going on.

The charming, winning, Mr Scott stood there watching the brunette chase after the two aliens before frowning. He was willing to forgive Megamind for having a hissy fit at him that day, for trying to punch him and failing miserably, but to be turned down by Roxanne while offering her a free meal at Conroy's? That dented his ego, and it took a _lot_ to do that. Heaving a sigh he shook his head, and headed off home.

"Sir, Sir! SIR." Minion finally caught up with Megamind, grabbing his shoulder. "That was very rude, Sir... I know it wasn't nice seeing that happen but-"

"I know, I know, I know!" Megamind said, not attempting to pull away from his friend. "But look at the choice she's got, Minion. Dinner at the fanciest place in town with Mr Big Chin or video games with a pair of alien nerds. Which would you pick?"

"Video games with a pair of alien nerds of course." Minion replied gently, letting go of his friend. "Why would I want to go to Conroy's? Bunch of stuff shirted people who think they're better then everyone, menu's that are way too expensive..."

Megamind gave him a small, tiny smile before rubbing at the back of his neck and looking down at the ground.

"There you two are!" Roxanne's voice surprised both of them, causing the two aliens to look up at her and gape in surprise at seeing her re-joining them. "Man you two move fast, especially you big guy." she smiled at Minion.

"Miss Ritchi?" the fish asked, surprised.

"Roxanne." Megamind breathed the name more than spoke it, his face turning purple again as he did. "But, I thought-"

"You thought wrong." Roxanne said with a soft smile. "I promised video games, and I'm looking forward to video games. I dunno who Wayne thinks he is, swooping in and asking me to dinner on the same night. Leaves me NO time to get ready at all! Plus, it interrupts my schedule." she reaffirmed with a firmer smile and a nod of her head. "So come on. Let's go get in our casuals, veg out on a couch and play video games till our thumbs ache."

Megamind could have kissed her. He could have flung himself forward, wrap his arms around her shoulders and kiss her any and everywhere. Instead he stood there awkwardly and gave her a small smile.

"Thank you." he said quietly.

"For what?" Roxanne asked, but Megamind just smiled at her in such a way that made it so she knew just what he was thanking her for. Nobody would pick him over Wayne for anything, that much was clear. She was the first, and that made her feel... well, she wasn't really certain as to what she was feeling but she liked it.

The trio split up once at the apartment, Roxanne entered her apartment and changed out of her work gear and tugged on some jeans and a simple pink shirt along with her slippers. In the bathroom she brushed out her hair, before looking at her own eyes reflection.

"So, no Conroy's huh?" she asked herself before chuckling, splashed some water on her face and turned to head downstairs.

"Come in!" Minion called when Roxanne knocked on the door.

She walked into the apartment, closing the door behind her and found tonight they had Beatles music playing on their music system since she could hear John Lennon singing about a man who blew his minds out in a car. Interesting choice of music, to be sure. Minion was going through a few covers of video games in front of the television and sat up, grinning at her. Megamind must have still been in the bathroom.

"Miss Ritchi?" he said in a softer tone, which caused the woman to walk closer to him. "I just wanted to thank you for deciding to stay with us. It really means the world to Sir to have you here." more then she probably knew, he wanted to add but held it inside.

Roxanne smiled as she eased herself onto the couch. "It's only right to keep the engagement you made first, no matter how flashy the second one seems."

The fish grinned.

"Ah, Miss Ritchi." Megamind announced as he exited the bathroom, wearing black shorts and a deep blue shirt, which showed a Katamari being pushed by the Prince with the phrase 'This is how I roll' emblazed beneath it. "We meet again." he said with an impressive flare to his voice before jumping over the couch nimbly and landing on the couch besides her.

"Wow, nimble aren't you?" Roxanne laughed, having never seen Megamind really jump before.

"Ha ha." Megamind said sarcastically.

"So what are we going to be playing?" Roxanne asked, hugging her knees to her chest as she watched Minion insert a disc into one of the many, many consoles before the television.

"Mario Kart for the Wii." Minion announced as he got up, "It's a good starting point. It's a basic driving game only in this game you get little collectables as you drive along the roads. There are mushrooms to give you speed, green and red shells to throw at your opponents, bananas and false boxes on the road for people to drive into and spin out of control, and if you're the very last person in the race you get the all purpose blue shell which seeks out the driver in front and takes them out with an explosion!" Minion explained excitedly as he handed her an old school Game Cube controller that was connected to the Wii.

"But I thought Mario was... you know, side scroller?" she asked.

"He hasn't been a side scroller for a long time, not counting Paper Mario which is more like a RPG." Megamind explained as he watched the screen come to life on the television and began selecting the right options.

"R... RPG?" Roxanne felt like she was learning a new language.

"Role Play Game. You follow a path in the game but you're capable of doing other things first before continuing on with the story. Maybe we'll play some Paper Mario with you at some point too." the fish explained.

Megamind quickly showed Roxanne what buttons on her controls did what and how, and she nodded, taking mental notes as she did. She had only played the driving game on the old Sega System back when she was a child but she couldn't even remember the name of it since it had been so long ago. Soon the trio were set up on the couch, Minion on the left end, Roxanne on the right, and Megamind sitting on the floor between both of them and all three held a controller in her hands. Minion appeared to have one that was larger than Roxanne's, and she guessed that it had been customed to fit his large robot hands. Megamind, meanwhile, held the white wheel for the Wii in his hands.

What followed was some of the most fun Roxanne had experienced in years. She had chosen Peach and a Koopa in Mario's car, while Megamind had Waluigi and Wario in their purple Cadillac. Minion, meanwhile, had chosen Luigi and Toad in Luigi's car. Roxanne's first foray into the game had her rolling out of control and falling off high bridges much to the amusement of Megamind and Minion. More often then not she was the one to get the blue shell, making both Megamind and Minion hit the brakes and trying to make the other one the ones in front so they would blow up.

At one point she got both of them at the same time. They raced around the game tracks, all three leaning to the left, or right, with their drivers unable to stop themselves. Roxanne swore as she was hit by Mario's green shell, but then Megamind had Wario send a red shell right up the plumber's rear end, sending the Italian spinning.

"Chivalry isn't dead!" Roxanne laughed, to which Megamind only smiled to himself quietly as he continued to turn the wheel in his hands.

"Look out for Bowser he's got a blue shell!" Minion yelled and all three screamed in laughter as they tried avoiding or driving right into the oncoming blue shell.

They ended up playing every track on the game at least four times, sometimes more. There were pit stop breaks to get snacks and water, but nothing heavy enough to count as dinner and that was fine by Roxanne's standards. It had been a fairly crap day at work, so this was a perfect way to end it.

"Man why didn't I come do this earlier?" she asked as she sipped from a can of soda.

"I don't know. Why?" Minion asked as he was feeding himself some fish flakes via the lid at the top of his dome.

"Hmm... I guess I thought video games were just for... well. Nerds. No offence." she grinned at Megamind who scoffed.

"None taken. But there are so many kinds of video games out there, side scroll, fight, RPG, combat, first person... and they come in all kinds of genre. Romance, action, kids, humour, slice of life, Star Wars..."

"You know I've never watched those movies?" Roxanne asked with a grin.

The silence that followed that statement was so powerful she could hear the television of the neighbour down the hall, and on top of that could probably had heard a pin drop.

"What?" Minion asked in a small voice.

"You've _never_..." Megamind said shakily, dropping his controller to the ground.

"Well no. I was a fairly girly girl growing up, Star Wars was never really my thing." Roxanne admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

"You HAVE to watch them!" Megamind, and Minion, said at the same time. "The first three movies are possibly one of if not the greatest trilogy ever created!" Minion went on to gush.

"Counting Indiana Jones trilogy AND the Lord of the Rings." Megamind pointed out.

Roxanne stared at the two before smiling meekly.

"Oh my God you haven't even seen those three either?" Minion asked, to which Roxanne shook her head.

"I feel like my head is going to implode." Megamind said, and it looked it since his whole body was shaking. Here was a woman who hadn't seen Star Wars, Indiana Jones, OR the Lord of the Rings. It was like he had happened across the perfect canvas, and had the chance to show her the greatest nerd films of all time for the first time.

"Let me guess you guys are already planning a movie marathon as I speak right?" Roxanne asked with a warm smile.

"You bet your freckles we are!" Megamind was to his feet in a split second. "All right. This Friday, you come here straight from work. We'll start with... oh man. Minion, I don't know what to start with!"

"How about alphabetically?" Minion asked.

"Indiana, Lord, Star... that works! Leave the best till last." he rubbed his hands together in a conspirator kind of way. "So, this Friday we begin with Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom then Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

"What about the Crystal Skull one, that came out a few years back?" she asked.

Both he and Minion looked disgusted that she even knew of the existence of it. "We don't consider that part of the Indiana Jones canon. No, we won't be watching that." Megamind said in a dignified way. "On top of that, we'll be watching the original theatrical release of Star Wars. No out of focus dinosaur butt, added effects, and NO Greedo shooting first."

"Greedo?" Roxanne blinked.

"You'll see." Minion grinned.

"Well, I'm not afraid." Roxanne shrugged.

"You will be. You. Will. Be." Megamind said suddenly, leaning into her so close she felt a blush coming up to her face as she leaned away. Megamind stayed there for a moment longer before he scoffed, laughed, and stood back. "Oh man I'm sorry I just had to say that, you had the greatest opening there for that quote." he grinned.

Roxanne felt like she had just signed up for something both amazing, and terrifying, at the same time. Taking at least one look at Minion and Megamind's apartment the two were into these kinds of things hard core since she could see the Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Lord of the Rings posters. There was also Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and other movies she didn't recognize since they were in other languages. It was like she had just now finally taken a step into a world she knew very little about, but was very much interested in learning all she could.

After all, it might be a lot of fun.


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the week was fairly low key, and while Roxanne continued to play either coy or hard to get with Wayne, nothing else of really great interest happened in the office until Friday around three in the afternoon. She, having had a fairly rough day coupled with the fact that her body was reminding her how wonderful it was being a woman, was feeling uncharacteristically on-edge. She had been quiet since lunch, and had stuck to her desk typing away at her computer, typing up all the claim forms and invoices that she faced on a daily basis.

At times like these she could understand why so many people left for better jobs, or returned to a private college in order to make it impossible for them to end up in this kind of job again. Just how Megamind and Minion enjoyed it she would never, ever understand and was far too polite to ask them.

She heard the dry drawl of Bernard, who was talking to one of the team leaders over some issue with somebody taking folders into the toilets when Roxanne realized she had to go and photocopy something. Grabbing her gear she got out from her seat and was half way across the floor when Hal appeared from behind something or another. Sipping a half empty can of coke the office creeper watched her as she walked past him and she could all but feel his eyes stabbing into her back.

"Oh yeah, shake what your momma gave you." he said in a voice dripping with sleaze and oil.

Roxanne was well aware that Minion and Megamind were, rarely, standing outside their cubicles talking about one of the archives that Minion held under his hand. She was aware that there were people around, yet still she spun on the spot and gave Hal the kind of glare a woman gave a man when she was well and truly at the end of her rope.

Her red heels took her over to him, her arm readied itself, and she slammed it right across his face. The coke can fell and landed with a clatter, no doubt spilling coca cola all over the carpeted flooring, yet nobody in the vicinity appeared to care.

"That's _enough._" Roxanne growled, "I've _had_ it with you making creepy comments about me and at me. What do you think, I'll fall all over you? I'll throw myself at you for telling me to 'shake what my momma gave me'? I am bleeding from a place I should not be bleeding from and I've _had_ it with you and your sleazy come ons!"

"You're bleeding?" she heard Megamind before she saw him, the blue alien having hurried over to the situation along with Minion who had dropped the archive box where he had stood. "I'll be right back!" the alien was off before she could say anything, while Hal just stood there rubbing his cheek.

"At last!" said Pina from her desk, "You tell him!"

"I've been complaining about him for ages." said Lilly, "How is it that this hasn't happened sooner?" she asked another woman who shrugged.

Having so much attention thrust upon her would normally embarrass Roxanne but then she saw Megamind hurrying back to the scene of the altercation, carrying the first aid box. "It's all right, it's all right. I got it!" he announced, almost tripping over his own feet but miraculously didn't end up on the floor. Megamind halted in front of her and set the first aid kit down on the floor. "I know CPR, I know how to resuscitate somebody and I know to apply pressure to a bleeding wound tell me where you're bleeding Roxanne so I can help you!"

What followed next would go down in Metro Cover history. Watching all of this drama unfold was Bernard Dunnings, a regular ordinary every day man who tended to wear brown and blue a lot. He was known for his uninterest in people, his voice could suck and any all happiness out of the room with a simple syllable and his sarcasm could cause hair to curl. All in all, he wasn't known for being a very positive person in the office. In fact, nobody could ever recollect a moment when the man smiled genuinely at anyone.

So when he suddenly jerked his head back and opened his mouth to bray out a laugh that echoed across the whole floor you could forgive everyone gathered to stop what they were doing to stare at him with a mix of horror, shock, and confusion as to what to do since nobody had ever seen Bernard laugh before. The real kicker was he had a brilliant laugh, one of those laughs that seemed to begin at the soles of his feet, bubble upwards, bounce out louder in his stomach and really shook his body as he laughed.

Megamind, greatly disturbed by Bernard's laughter, managed to draw his attention to Roxanne. He held up a roll of material bandages. "...bandages...?" he asked.

Minion, truly horrified by Bernard laughing, was fighting the urge to run back to the safety of his cubicle but forced himself to bend over behind his friend. "S-Sir, what... what Miss Ritchi meant is..." whatever he said was whispered quietly and quickly into Megamind's ear.

Roxanne watched, pitying the poor alien and his naivety, as his face turned from that of concern to absolute horror and disgust. He pulled back, eyes wide. "Oh my God ew!" he cried.

"I know, right?" Roxanne asked weakly.

"Excuse me!" Hal called out finally, "I was just hit by a co-worker! Don't I get first aid and a paper to fill in to lodge a complaint of workplace bullying?" he asked.

"Oh please!" Megamind was the one to voice up suddenly, having apparently recovered from his traumatic experience of learning why women bled, as he got up and went over to the red head. "If anything Roxanne and half the women on our floor should be the ones filling in a lodge form to complain about your behaviour! We've all seen you leer and comment at the girls! It's disgusting! Can't you tell Roxanne isn't interested in you? Nobody is! Build a bridge, get over it!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself. Oh wait. I have." Bernard, having recovered from his burst of laughter which would no doubt stave off any further laughter for another ten years. "And I did."

Megamind turned to Bernard and was about to say something when Wayne descended on the squabbling group, and after an hour and a half everything was sorted out. Words were exchanged, declarations, and yes, some lodge forms had been filled in and sent on to human resources. Over all it was a very, very interesting end of the week for everyone. No doubt what happened on level ten that day would long go down in Metro Cover history and not just because of Bernard laughing.

"I couldn't believe it! Smack, right in the kisser!" Minion gushed as the trio rode down the elevator together, as usual. Roxanne, as of Monday, had long given up with keeping it secret that she lived in the same building as the two nerds or that they hung out together outside of work.

This had caused some waves. It seemed as though everyone around her believed she and Wayne to be a pair now, yet nothing could be further from the truth. While many people had egged her on to divulge the information of what happened between the two after the BBQ Roxanne, and Wayne, refused to answer any questions. Naturally this resulted in nothing but rumours going around the office, that they were friends with benefits, that every night Wayne was coming to her apartment to be with her, and that they were going to go to Vegas to get married by an Elvis impersonator. It was all very interesting, and rather shove a knife into everyone's creative thinking, Roxanne just let it be.

Course now that people knew she was a friend with Megamind a fair few of them had stopped really talking to her. In all honesty she felt she was better off without those people as her friends at work. If she was to be judged by whom she called friends, then what was the point of caring for their opinions?

"It felt so good." Roxanne grinned at the fish, then at Megamind. "And how 'bout you, getting all defensive like that! I didn't know you had it in you, my little hero." she smiled.

Megamind chuckled a forced chuckle, hoping she didn't see the faint tint on his cheeks at being called a hero. "He was out of line."

"Technically I was since I was the one to sock it to him." Roxanne giggled as the elevator doors open and she stepped out first, as it was right, and the two aliens trailed after her. "God I'm going to be in big trouble come Monday."

"Just tell them Hal is a creeper and has been sexually harassing you since you started but you didn't lodge a form against him because this was your new job and you didn't want to get into trouble." Megamind said as they walked down the street, "They'll buy that. Anyway, onto more important matters, what kind of food do you want for tonight?"

Ah yes, how could she forget? Tonight she was going to be subjected to the first movie in their trilogy of trilogy marathon. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc, Harrison Ford in all his gritty appearance and smarmy charm. "Hmm. I don't know. What are you two up for?" she asked.

"Chinese." Minion said,

"Pizza." Megamind said, both at the same time. The two glanced at one another, each narrowing the exact same eye at one another so they were practically a mirror of expressions. Roxanne couldn't help but laugh at how adorable the two could be at times. Did they even know how much they made her laugh?

"How about I make something for you two?" she offered.

The two stopped glaring at one another and turned their attention to her, eyes wide.

"You'd cook for us?" Megamind asked.

"Nobody has ever done that before." Minion whispered, looking as if all the answers to the universe had been unfolded before him and everything was a-ok.

"No?" Roxanne blinked, surprised. "Don't you two know how to cook?"

"I know how to burn toast." Megamind said, "Poach an egg, make some stir noodles, you know. That kind of stuff. But cook? As in use an oven or a toaster and grill cook? No." he shook his head. "In prison we're not exactly allowed to... you know. Handle utensils or cook..."

"Oh... yeah... I forgot." Roxanne had heard tale that Megamind and Minion had been raised in jail together but she was polite enough not to ask about how the upbringing was. Megamind had told her enough, that when he had gotten off for good behaviour he had been taken into a foster system with Minion, studied hard, got a job, and had taken care of himself ever since getting out. It was obvious the alien didn't like talking about his childhood at all. "Well, that makes this whole thing even more important! How about, every night I'm over your place to watch a movie marathon I bring something home made?"

"That would be amazing." Megamind said bluntly. "What are you going to make?" he asked.

"Ah ah ah," she shook her finger at him, winking. "No telling. Just tell me if you guys are allergic to anything?" Roxanne asked, half expecting a long list of restrictions from the two.

"The only thing I don't eat is fish." Megamind said, before gesturing to Minion. "You can understand why... it'd be like eating a cousin of Minion."

"I don't eat fish either." Minion said, "But any other kind of meat is a-ok by me!" he grinned, purposely showing off his knife sharp teeth. Roxanne was sure if given the opportunity Minion would make good use of those teeth of his in a fight.

"All right, that's pretty easy. I don't know how to cook fish anyway, it's so fussy." Roxanne laughed. "So a win-win for everyone involved!"

"So it seems." Megamind said as they arrived their building. "So what time are we to expect you?" he asked as he checked his mailbox, just as Roxanne did.

"Hmmm. Say seven o'clock? That will be enough time." she said with a small smile.

"Seven o'clock it is! And bring your sleep things," Minion piped up with a big grin. "We're playing all three Indiana Jones movies and we'll be up way past midnight. Sleep wherever you crash."

Roxanne blinked, but smiled. She could pack a small night bag for her toiletries no problem. "Sure thing. See you boys in a few hours!" she said, honestly excited at the prospect of cooking for the two and then watching three movies in a row with them.

"She's _cooking_ for us!" Megamind gushed the second they were in their apartment, "I've never had a girl _cook_ for me before!"

"Well to be honest Sir, girls haven't really done anything for either of us." Minion pointed out, before clasping his hands together. "It's so exciting!" he squealed.

"We'll have to clear the table!" Megamind gasped, looking at their cluttered dinner table.

"But Sir, our Dungeons and Dragons..." Minion said, looking to the table at the map laid out upon it, and many precisely painted little figurines took up positions across it. Megamind looked at the table, grabbed a near by camera and took a few dozen photographs of what was where and who was doing what before he cleared them into a clear case.

"We can pick it up on Sunday." Megamind said to Minion, who nodded.

The two set up clearing up the room a little, making it not as clustered as it usually was. As Minion connected up the DVD player Megamind set about laying the table. He found a nice pale blue tablecloth and spread it on the round table before fetching some plates, utensils, glasses and lastly napkins. He measured it so each of them had equal amounts of elbowroom so nobody would be bumping, and shifted the spare fourth chair off to the side.

"I'm so excited..." he said as he wiped clean the last glass, setting it in the seat he had allocated for Roxanne.

Minion looked up from his place near the television, before quietly speaking. "I almost wish I wasn't here, Sir."

"What?" Megamind spun on his heels, staring at Minion with wide eyes. "Why would you say such a thing Minion?"

"Well, if I wasn't here and being such a third wheel you and Miss Ritchi could really get to know one another... you know what I mean." he said, gesturing with his hands. "You could get closer without me here."

"That is ridiculous get that silly notion out of your head." Megamind said as he marched over, grabbing Minion by the arms. "You're my best friend. I'm not going to try and lock you out of my life just because I like a girl. Besides, you... you know she has Wayne, and she isn't interested in me like that."

"She hasn't confirmed anything about Mr Scott." Minion pointed out.

"True but I couldn't bare asking her. And you won't either. She'll tell us what she wants when she wants until that day comes we don't mention anything about me liking her. You promised me, Minion. Remember?" Megamind asked.

"I do, Sir. I always keep my promises." the fish replied with a nod. "I just want to see you happy, Sir."

"I already am." Megamind said in a gentler tone. "Believe you me."

They still had an hour to go until Roxanne would arrive with whatever dinner she had in store for them, so the two sat in silence reading their books. Minion was reading a collection of Hellboy while Megamind was flipping through Pluto, a manga based on Astro Boy. The two were sat on the couch, reading quietly to one another, though now and then one of them would either snicker in amusement or gasp in surprise.

"You'd like this one, sir. It's about an alien from space pretending to be a human." Minion said as he peered at Megamind.

"And you'd like this, it's got robots." Megamind replied with a dry smile. The two laughed.

Then the door knocked, and Megamind was up and off the couch seconds later and pulling the door open. "You're early!" he said with a grin when he saw who it was.

Roxanne, carrying a crock-pot, stood there with a triumphant smile on her face. "I know." she replied before walking in, and placing the pot in the middle of the table. "I didn't know if you had serving things so I brought my own." she said as Minion got to his feet and came to the table.

"What did you make?" Megamind asked.

"Pasta." Roxanne grinned as she pulled the lid off. Inside the pot was rich, thick tomato sauce with mincemeat, accompanied by long pasta. "I figured Minion can open the top of his bowl and slowly dangle in the pieces he wants like a real worm." she added, glancing at the fish and smiling.

"I do like worms." Minion replied enthusiastically.

"Lovely." Roxanne laughed.

"This looks amazing." Megamind said as he watched her take out some parmesan cheese and a grater from a pocket on her jacket and began to gently grate it over the still hot pasta.

"Well, sit! It isn't proper unless I serve you." Roxanne insisted.

"But you're the guest, I should...!" Minion insisted.

"No no, I cooked it. I serve it. Get your robot butt in the seat." Roxanne ordered. Not liking it, Minion still sat and watched as Roxanne served them up an equal serve before taking her own seat. Seeing how none of them moved to save grace, Megamind lifted his glass of water.

"To Roxanne. For being awesome." he said, to which Roxanne blushed, smiled, and clinked her glass against his first and then Minion.

Plates were all but licked clean and Roxanne watched as both Minion and Megamind cleaned up the plates afterwards. This was strange for her, since most boys she had been with most certainly didn't do their own dishes at all so it was beautifully refreshing to watch Megamind wash the dishes and Minion obediently dry them before putting the plates away but leaving the washed crock-pot on the table for Roxanne to take home the day after.

"And now that all of that is done and out of the way," Megamind said as he pulled a DVD out of the alphabetically (first by company who produced it, and then the title of the movie) ordered movie collection and moved over to the DVD player. "I introduce to you, Miss Roxanne Ritchi, Mr Indiana Jones, archaeologist and adventurer, finder of lost loves and treasured mystical things. I hope you two get along."

Roxanne giggled from her seat on the couch, and watched as Minion seemed to purposely sit on the chair next to the couch. Megamind popped the DVD in and moved to sit in the chair but stopped when he saw Minion already there. Slowly he shifted and sat down on the couch besides Roxanne, handling the remote as if it was a mighty weapon.

What followed, for Roxanne, was one of the most fun she had ever had while staying home in all her life. Sure, it didn't really measure up to when she would have a gentleman caller over and they would spend the night in well and truly immersed under her bed sheets, but she certainly found herself liking these Indiana Jones movies. Just how she stayed awake for all three movies, alert and enthralled by the energy in the scenes and the mystery that swept through all of the movies.

Harrison Ford really dug the role, obviously. How sweaty he looked, how handsome and rugged. Every now and then Minion, or Megamind, would be mouthing a scene word for word to themselves and she found this cute, to know these two cared so deeply about a movie to memorize scenes and characters actions.

She did fairly well, but by the time that Indiana's father was recovering from his near death experience in the hidden caves where the Holy Grail lived, she was well and truly tired. It was almost four in the morning, and she could swear some sunlight was beginning to lighten the sky outside. Yawning, Roxanne found herself leaning over and resting herself against Megamind's frail, skinny form.

Megamind, still awake, felt even more awake when he felt her head come to a rest on his shoulder. He looked down at her, then across at Minion who was watching the screen. Unable to move in arm in case it bothered, or awoke, Roxanne Megamind simply stared at the screen as the characters began to ride off into the sunset. The third and, to him, final Indiana Jones movie ended on such a high note it was uplifting. But he still felt a little intimidated, Roxanne leaning against him like this. Her breath against his neck, giving him goose pimples all the way down his arms and legs to his fingers and toes.

Finally Minion seemed to spot the situation, and chuckled gently to himself. Getting up, he very gently eased Roxanne so she was laying down on the couch, covered with a blanket. Megamind, free of her, stood besides the couch and whispered goodnight to Minion who was already retreating to his room. Megamind paused a moment to watch Roxanne there on his couch in her pyjamas, sleeping peacefully after being introduced to Indiana Jones. He wondered how she would fare next week, when Frodo would take her on the trip from the Shire to Mount Doom.

But most of all, he wondered if he could...

He glanced around, as if expecting someone to be watching him. Seeing no one he slowly bent down, and ghosted his lips against her forehead not yet brave enough to even kiss her as she slept. A sudden realization how sad and pathetic this was almost literally pushed him away from her, and with a face very much set in a deep purple color, Megamind retreated to the safety of his room and gently shut the door behind him.


	9. Chapter 9

Monday came around quicker than Roxanne had ever experienced. Her weekend had been mostly of catching up on her sleep she was sourly deprived of on Friday night. But still, she couldn't deny that she had had a whole lot of fun watching those movies with Megamind and Minion. The two of them, Megamind especially, was so in love with these kinds of movies and the action portrayed within she couldn't help but be suckered in with them.

It didn't help much that Harrison Ford was damn sexy in his gritty days.

But now Monday was here and she was putting up with HR and her complaint against Hal and his unsatisfactory office behaviour. She was in that meeting room with two people she didn't care to talk to for far longer then she would have liked to but it had to be done, since it appeared her complaint had opened a floodgate and they had received at least several other women on her floor.

Naturally when she finally returned to the safety of her tenth floor she found Hal not there. Word was he had called in sick, but many figured it was because of the actions of Friday that caused him to not be here. Bernard even speculated the man was fired. That was her hope, but it was petty to hope too hard for that to happen even if Hal might deserve it.

"...my zippers bust, my buckles break, I'm too much man for you to take..." the first thing she heard when approaching the photocopier was Minion, singing another one of his favourite Weird Al songs. Most probably wouldn't sing _that_ song in an office environment but even those who didn't particularly like the fish knew better then to comment on him for singing that kind of song. After all, were you game enough to insult somebody with a robot gorilla body?

"Morning Minion!" Roxanne greeted,

"Miss Ritchi!" the fish stood up behind the cubicle wall, his small fish body just visible above the top of it. "I see you escaped the HR meeting?"

"I was considering gnawing off my foot to get out of there." she replied with a weak grin.

"That bad huh?" Minion asked.

"Oh yeah." Roxanne rolled her eyes before glancing at Megamind's cubicle. "So how are you two this morning?"

"Sir got called to another floor. Something about their computer system not operating properly." Minion explained straight away, not wanting her to believe that his friend was simply ignoring her since he knew Megamind would never do such a thing. "We're good! All well rested from Friday?" he asked with a little grin, since he hadn't seen Roxanne at all on Sunday after she left for her own apartment on Saturday around four in the afternoon when she woke up.

"Very. I needed to be." she smiled before brushing a stray hair behind her ear.

"Needed to be?" Minion asked, unsure if this was referring to something he was meant to understand or not. But before she could answer Megamind rushed up to the two having exited the elevator.

"Minion! Do you have my spares here?" he asked, seemingly not even seeing Roxanne was there he was in that much of a panic.

"Sir?" Minion blinked, "What happened?"

"Those idiots on level three had boxes up and I tripped and landed on my glasses, look at them!" Megamind held up his square rimmed glasses, both lenses cracked and one of them well and truly shattered. That faithful little bit of duct paper had died in the accident too, since neither frame was attached to one another anymore.

"Oh no!" Minion gasped, before ducking back down to search through his drawers.

"Your glasses busted, man. Are they expensive?" Roxanne asked.

Megamind glanced up and saw her, feeling suddenly ashamed for having not noticed her there. "Oh uh. Yes. Kind of. That's why I saved this one as long as I could..." he mumbled, fingering the shattered glass.

"Sir I am so sorry I don't have them here..." Minion said, slowly stepping out from his cubicle. "They must be back at the apartment."

"Crap!" Megamind swore, "I need to take the minutes in a meeting in two minutes then they want me back on level two when can I go..."

"I could go." Roxanne offered, "Nobody else has seen me yet, I could sneak out and get to your place and back in just five minutes." she shrugged.

Minion and Megamind stood there in silence, contemplating this. Minion couldn't leave since he had to be on the phones, and Megamind had his people to answer to so he was really stuck. Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out a mess of key rings she hadn't seen before. For an alien who only had three keys (one for his mail box, the other for his apartment, the other his car) he had multiple key rings attached to each one. The home key had a small blue Tardis, the mailbox key had the Ghostbusters logo complete with the red 'no' sign around the ghost, and the car keys had the Death Star. Those three were, in turn, connected to one large key ring of a blue lightning bolt that looked home made.

"Um. Wow. How do you fit these in your pockets?" Roxanne asked as she took the keys.

"Sitting is fairly painful if I forget to take them out of my pocket." Megamind said flatly before grabbing her hands in his, smiling broadly. "Thank you Roxanne, I owe you one! Now you'll find them in my room in the right hand set of drawers, third down. They're in a blue case with a black M written on the top. Get that?"

"Right hand drawers, third down, black case." Roxanne nodded.

"With an M." Megamind reminded her.

"With an M." she echoed, smiling.

She soon found herself standing outside Megamind and Minion's apartment with the mass of keys, trying to remember which one opened the door to their apartment. She knew the Death Star wouldn't open a door since it was a car, and after failing with the Ghostbusters she tried the Tardis and ended up inside the apartment.

Despite having visited Megamind and Minion this was the first time she was ever really alone in here. It almost felt like she was intruding, but she reminded herself that both of them knew she was here and she was here to get Megamind his spare pair of glasses. She crossed the kitchen area and found the door to Megamind's room (noticeable since it was painted blue, unlike Minion whose door was green) and pushed it open.

She had never seen his bedroom, and she couldn't help herself but stop there, staring at just what awaited her. There was his single bed, with a deep green colored bed sheet that had light green zeroes and ones running along it in a pattern. Binary bed sheets? Somehow she wasn't surprised. Sitting on his bed was his after work clothes already selected, a Storm Trooper with a cup of coffee that said 'May the Froth be with you' and simple black jeans. Next to his bed were what first appeared to be white rabbit slippers but then she realized their mouths were open, revealing sharp teeth and bloody splattered jaws. Besides his bed were two bedside drawers, one with a light that was Darth Vader holding a light sabre that most probably lit up the room with an eerie red glow. Besides him was a Dalek clock sitting so innocently. On the left side drawers was a stack of books, most of them with writers names who Roxanne could only dream of pronouncing.

Across from his bed was a huge bookshelf that was scattered with books, and figurines that looked fairly old, and or expensive. There were gun replicas, a Darth Vader helmet, and small statues. Besides the bookshelf was his computer and it seemed to be in either hundreds of pieces on purpose or it had exploded. Did he custom-make his own computer? She wouldn't be at all that surprised if he did, since the keyboard appeared to be one of those that were projected by a small device that resembled a pen. Roxanne knew this since she had seen them on the Internet before. Then there was his built in wardrobe, which was shut, and despite her curious nature she knew not to look inside.

Reflected in the mirrors were also the posters that Megamind had seemingly smothering his walls. In fact she couldn't see one ounce of wall paint or wallpaper at all. Everything was movie posters. Roxanne paused, just a moment longer, to look at them all. Some of the posters were in frames, obviously old and vintage so they deserved being protected, naturally these were Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Alien and Aliens and even the first Star Trek movie and the second one, the Wrath of Khan. Besides these there were some posters of musicians, including the Beatles (the classics like Abbey Road, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band), AC/DC, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osborne and breaking up the monotonous of movie and musicians were some posters of men of science including Einstein, Tesla, Isaac Asamof and Stephen Hawkings in their element.

And above all of the singers, movies, and famous men of science was the galaxy. It was the picture of the Pillars of Creation printed at a huge size in order to cover his ceiling, for there were those striking colors of blues, purples, browns and blacks highlighted by pinpoints of light and pink stars, yet the only place where there was no posters was where the lights hung suspended from their wires. Roxanne wondered just how much time and effort he had put into designing his room and if Minion had helped. Then she realized that was a silly question, of course Minion would have helped him.

Then she moved over to where Darth Vader and a Dalek stood guard and opened up the correct drawer and found it full of socks of various colors. One had chemical warnings, another had stripes, there was also some hand made Tardis socks (she guessed knitted by Minion) but hidden at the bottom of them all was the blue case with a black 'M' emblazed upon them.

"There you are!" she snatched up the case and slipped it into her bag before exiting the bedroom, pausing only to spot that he had left his morning towel on the floor of his bedroom. Unable to help herself she knelt and picked up the white towel, and couldn't help a small knowing smile at seeing the phrase 'Don't Panic' upon it. She found the bathroom and hung it over the periodic table shower curtains. "Boys..." she said before quickly checking her reflection in the mirror before exiting the apartment, locking the door after her.

Only after locking the door did she pause to wonder just what kind of room Minion had, but she had a mission to fulfil and she wasn't going to take it lightly. Megamind would be returning from taking the meeting's minutes and needed his glasses to be there in order to return to level three to fix their computers after all.

Once she was in the elevator going to her floor she pulled out the case to peer at what his glasses were like. Their frames were bleached white and round as dinner plates. Roxanne managed to control a snort of amusement at how these somehow being nerdier then his square black ones.

"My God you're a geek, Megamind." she said to herself before exiting the elevator to leave his glasses on his desk for him to find.

Some people, she realized as she got back to her seat, would probably have found Megamind's room a bit of an overload of nerd, or geek, living. Yet to her it was just... Megamind. That was his private space, where he could be who he was and lavish in all the things he adored without fear of being judged by those around him. Sometimes she wondered if he even held back for her behalf, which, if true was one of the sweetest things ever.

Half an hour she saw Megamind exit the elevator and go to his cubicle and soon exit wearing the round glasses. He spotted her looking at him and he smiled, put his hands together in a praying motion and mouthed 'thank you' before hurrying back to the elevators, off to do something else for people who didn't really appreciate him.

"What was all that about?" Bernard's voice snapped her out of her slight stupor and the girl looked up at him.

"Huh?" she asked.

"That little display just then." Bernard said, gesturing to the elevator where Megamind had vanished.

"That was nothing. I just did something for him." she said as she turned to her computer, waking it up since it had fallen into sleep mode.

"U-huh."

Roxanne turned slowly, looking at him. "And what does that mean?" she asked,

"What?" Bernard asked with a faint smirk.

"That 'u-huh' of yours. Come on, spill. What are you thinking?" she asked, folding her arms.

"I'm beginning to wonder just who on this floor you're interested in. First you were all over Wayne, but now you seem to be spending all free time around the blue boy and his fish friend. Is Roxanne unable to decide who is better for her?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "Oh I'm sitting on pins and needles awaiting the conclusion of this little movie."

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "It isn't like that. We're friends, nothing else."

"Yeah, right. How often are you going over to his place?" Bernard asked.

She paused, before narrowing an eye and wagged a finger at him. "This is none of your business, you realize? You're becoming a nosy prick just like all those people you bitch about."

"But I'm Bernard. I'm allowed to bitch about other people." he pointed out before wagging a finger back at her. "So come on, how often are you over there?"

"As often as I please." Roxanne replied simply.

"U-huh." he said again before taking a sip of his coffee, and wondered if he should tell her that Megamind had the world's biggest boner for her. It would certainly throw a spanner in the works, but he decided against it. He smiled at her, which caused her some distress, before nodding his head to her. "Well best of luck in whatever it is you're doing."

"You are so hard to understand sometimes." Roxanne smiled.

"And I'm so good at it." Bernard grinned before walking away.

Across the way, Minion was doing his best to ignore the grinding noise that the photocopier was making again, before glancing out past the cubicle doors to spot another person approaching Roxanne to talk. It was Wayne. He watched as the two talked, and he read more into their body language, the way the man was standing closer to her then Bernard was, the way he knelt down and put a hand to his chest. Was he apologizing for something?

Roxanne looked irritated at first but now she was smiling, and her freckles were standing out more, which meant she was blushing. The fish frowned, watching all this with a very unsatisfied look on his face. Wayne hadn't done anything to either him or Megamind per say, but he knew how his friend felt about this big chinned, rich man. Should he tell him, when he gets back, that Wayne had talked to Roxanne again? That he was now taking her hand into his and she was blushing even more now?

...no. No he wouldn't. Instead he decided to leave it up to Roxanne to tell them if anything had happened. She was fairly open with them on most things, which was refreshing, but she was still a girl. No doubt there were some things that she could only discuss with other girls, and not with her two nerd male neighbours.

Whatever it was that had just happened, he had an idea that Megamind wouldn't be that happy to hear about it.


	10. Chapter 10

Megamind, Minion and Roxanne were on the top floor of the building sharing their lunch together. They were sat at the taller table right up against a window, which gave them a beautiful view of Metro City. The rest of the cafeteria room was mostly smaller tables where other workers were eating and naturally there was the fridges, sinks, and bench top where most people made their lunches.

It was rare for anyone to spot the two aliens up here but it seemed as though today that Roxanne had talked the two into eating away from their desks and upstairs. She had forced Megamind to ignore the Internet kiosk in the corner and had him sit between herself and Minion.

"Megamind I was wondering," Roxanne started, "Minion mentioned that you're really good at Rock Band but I've never seen the stuff in your apartment. Do you practice at arcades or something like it?" she asked.

"Hm? Oh, no." Megamind looked up from his chicken Cesar salad and set his fork on the table. Naturally the salad had been bought from the cafe downstairs. "We have the set up at home." he said.

"Where?" Roxanne asked.

"In my room." Minion said "I don't have a bed since I sleep inside my suite. We have the whole Rock Band set up in there, with the guitars, keyboard, drums and a spare television. It's where we practice and just hang loose. We haven't played it in a while though because..." he glanced at Megamind, then looked back to Roxanne. "...because we didn't want to bother you, since you came up complaining on that first night because of Halo."

Roxanne smiled, and tilted her head slightly. "Mm. That's sweet of you."

"Not my idea." Minion replied before there was a soft clang that was Megamind's elbow coming into contact with Minion's chest. "Well it wasn't!" he grinned.

Megamind, rubbing at his nose nervously, spoke up. "So why are you asking?" he asked.

"Well I want to see you play." Roxanne said simply enough. "That's the long and short of it."

Megamind was quiet for a moment, before looking at her as if she had just grown a second head. "You want to see me?" he asked, unable to help but focus on the fact she said 'you', not 'you two'. She wanted to only watch him, and him alone. This made the hearts within his chest flutter like butterflies caught in a cross wind out in a field somewhere. She wanted to watch him sing and perform solo. He fought the urge to ask foolishly, 'Really?', and smiled at her before looking down at his salad to hide his blush.

"Well. All right. You know," he said as he sat up, his confidence returning, "I've created some of my own challenges. The game is simple enough so I simply programmed some levels for myself. Any song I really like gets added."

"That's impressive. You should be working in the game industry if you can do that, and I saw your computer. You really love technology don't you?" she asked, folding her arms and resting them on the table.

"Of course!" Megamind said enthusiastically, before gesturing to Minion. "I made Minion's suit when I was only eleven years old! I had to say it was to pass my metal works and technology studies to be able to work with all the material but I made it and I've only made a few upgrades since then!"

"It's true. Sir does have a way with metal." Minion said, sounding like a proud parent of an A+ their child had received.

"so tell me, why are you here?" Roxanne asked. "Why stay in a job where you're ordered around and pushed around by everyone?"

"Nobody else would hire me. Or us." Megamind said with a simple shrug, picking up his fork and stabbing a piece of chicken. "It's one thing to hire people of different race and creed but... a whole different species? Not everyone is as open minded as you are, Roxanne."

"Hmm. I hate that things are like that for you." she said before reaching out and placed a hand to his shoulder. "You're so talented, you should be in a job that really suits you."

Megamind found himself incapable of saying anything outside of a small 'thank you' squeak. Sadly it wasn't long until their lunch half hour was gone, and Roxanne waved them off as they returned to their cubicles. She felt sorry for them, in a way. Roxanne had heard that because they were aliens, they were paid at a lower rate then even a casual worker. That was the reason behind them starting earlier, and having shorter lunch breaks then the others. Course, they had refused to work later at the end of the day so their pay, once again, wasn't as much as it could be.

She found this terribly unfair for the two of them but knew that complaining about it wouldn't get her, or them, anywhere. Megamind and Minion had apparently applied for so many positions in so many companies but none had hired them based on the fact that they were a blue alien and a fish in a mechanical body. This, Metro Cover, was the only company daring enough to hire them. They had been working here five years now, and it looked as though they would be here until they retired, whenever that would be.

Yet despite their bad situation, in a job they hate, getting low paid, and how those around them treated them they were genuinely happy. They had a place where they could be themselves, and it was wonderful to see it. Maybe she was distracting them, if just a little, by being their friend but after meeting with them a few times she had genuinely begun to enjoy their company. They talked about all manner of things, nerd related and otherwise, and she found herself laughing with them far more then she ever had with other people.

"Can you believe it, she wants to see me perform!" Megamind gushed as they headed down the elevator to Minion. "Me, Minion! Me!"

"I know Sir, it's wonderful." Minion said happily, smiling warmly. "What are you going to perform for her?"

"Oh I don't know, I don't know. I should have asked her when she wanted to do it! I need to prepare! I need to plan!" the blue alien, once the elevator doors opened, dashed out and hurried through to his cubicle and instead of focusing on the work at hand he began thinking over what he could sing for Roxanne and when. He could email her, asking her when, that would be suitable right? Yes, yes...

It was Thursday night when Roxanne made her way up the stairs to find Megamind opening the door to her, obviously excited. He was wearing some baggy pants and a grey, well worn looking shirt. "Roxanne, there you are! I was wondering when you'd arrive for the concert."

"Ha ha." she grinned as she walked in, then glanced around. "Where's Minion?" she asked, glancing around and found it strange to not find the fish sitting at the couch or with his head in the fridge.

"Oh uh. Minion said he had some over due library books to take back. Said he'd rather walk then take the car so he'll be a while." Megamind explained, even though he himself highly doubted that the books his friend had showed him were library books at all. They looked suspiciously like books Minion had owned for a fair few years but he had been out of the door and down the stairs before Megamind could ask any further questions.

Roxanne nodded, and made her way into the apartment as Megamind closed the doors behind her. "So, show me through to my seat?" she asked with a grin.

"This way my dear." Megamind gestured and walked her through to the green colored door. Inside was the Rock Band set up Minion had mentioned. It looked second hand, but very much cared for at the same time. "Behold! Rock Band. Impressive no?" he asked.

"Is that a stage?" she asked, amused at the small white raised platform where the microphones stood.

"Yes." Megamind said.

"You're such a nerd." Roxanne smiled.

"I know." replied Megamind, before taking the stage.

Roxanne moved to the single chair that was set in the middle of the room and took a moment to look around. Compared to Megamind's room, this room wasn't nearly as clustered or nerdy in appearance. There were some framed images on the wall of sea life, obviously Minion's idea, and some showing album covers by Queen, David Bowie and the Beatles. She smiled. "You know I really like your taste in music."

Megamind nodded as he turned on the machines needed and set the microphone in the centre of the stage after moving the spare one to the side. Minion wasn't here to sing back up, thankfully the track had the back up singers included. He scrolled through a fairly plain looking list on the television screen, showing that this was one of his custom made parts of the game. Once she was settled, she waited.

She knew the song straight away even before Megamind opened his mouth and spoke the first opening line. "I wanna talk to you."

Unable to help herself, Roxanne piped up. "The last time we talked Mr. Smith you reduced me to tears. I promise you that won't happen again."

The two shared a poignant little smile before the song properly started.

It was fairly standard at first, Megamind sang the opening verse to the song to the best of his abilities, just like she had seen him do at the company BBQ Picnic. He was certainly going all out, grabbing at the mic and gesturing to himself and going so far as to smiling in a manner, which reminded her of Hal. But then came the line about trying a little Freddie, and Megamind gave off a confident little grin that she only really saw on his face when he was pwning some noobs on a video game.

At the line, "I've gone identity mad" sent her into a squeal of delight and clapping her hands as she laughed. The skinny alien in the baggy clothes had grabbed at the buttons and ripped it open revealing he was wearing a yellow jacket under the grey. Another few pulls and rips and Megamind was standing there not in a tacky grey number but an outfit she had seen Freddie Mercury photographed in countless times. It was those white figure-hugging pants with red and yellow stripes, a white shirt and a yellow jacket thrown over that.

He really did belt the song out and just how he was capable of hitting those high notes and holding them there for as long as he did impressed Roxanne so much she almost missed out on the other speaking part of the song where she piped up "Getting angry doesn't solve anything!" to him, to which he grinned and even dared to wink at her. It was like she was in a private performance, a VIP for which a famous singer was only singing to her, and her alone. Never before had she really felt this way, and she wondered if he would ever go out of his way to plan and plot all this if she was anyone else.

Then he got to that long last stretch of vocal magic as he held the last word of the song even going so far as to kneel down but then tilt his body backwards with the microphone clasped tightly in his grip as he did.

Instead of clapping though, Roxanne got to her feet and put her hands to her hips. "Humphrey, we're leaving." she announced, in time with the songs back up music.

Megamind, panting and grinning, got to his feet and held up his hand for a high five. She gave it to him just as he all but purred "Kachiiiiinnga~"

"Wow I must say that was impressive!" Roxanne grinned, retrieving her hand and giving him a small round of applause. "Nobody's ever serenaded me before."

"Well then you've never met any decent men." Megamind replied with a confident grin before realizing that was probably a bad thing to say, and smiled sheepishly. "Ah hah... yeah..."

Roxanne chuckled, then tugged at the yellow jacket he was wearing. "So you bought this? Especially for today?" she asked.

"Heh, yeah... yeah..." He wasn't about to tell her that he and Minion had stayed up most of last night sewing the outfit together as well as the removable grey stuff he was wearing beforehand. That would be too pathetic to admit.

"So, what's next?" Roxanne sat herself back down on her chair, crossing her legs and watched him expectantly. "Come on, wow me some more!"

And he did. Grabbing the guitar for the game he turned so he was only just able to see the screen of the television out of the corner of his eye as he selected the next one. Roxanne, having never watched somebody play the game with the guitar, scooted closer in her chair to watch. On the screen above the playing image of the virtual band were the vocals, about how high to pitch your voice, and underneath the image were the chords that Megamind would have to hit at the right time.

"Welcome to the Jungle?" she asked.

"Nothing wrong with a bit of rock." Megamind said with a grin as the game started. Already he was hitting the buttons in the right order and without even having to look over his shoulder at the screen yet. The whole scene was surreal, for here was a blue alien dressed as Freddie Mercury performing the song Welcome to the Jungle by Guns 'n Roses. Of all the things Roxanne had done while over at Megamind's apartment, this was the last thing she would have ever expected to happen.

And so he sang his heart out again into the microphone, his voice matching up with that of the singer and his fingers deftly pressing the right buttons and only having to look to the screen a few times when reaching a more tricky part of the song but only then it was to check the guitar buttons, hardly bothering to even look at the vocals.

Roxanne watched Megamind, eyes drifting to the television when 'Star Streak Ready' would crop up, or the announcement of 'Note Streak!' normally accompanied by a number in the hundreds and when it reached 800 she was wondering how Megamind's fingers weren't melting the buttons on the guitar at all since they were moving so fast.

Then that last push came and Megamind jumped in the air and for a second she was fearful he was going to try to do a stage dive on her, instead he landed on one knee and stretched out his other leg in front of him, still playing out that last long chord. Then he was done, and the screen on the television erupted with 'You Rock!' and the virtual band were taking bows while the crowd applauded. Roxanne was on her feet at the same moment, clapping her hands wildly and cheering. It all took her back to her days as a teenager, seeing her first rock band performance, and being lost in the excitement of the crowd.

Despite it being only her in this room with the skinny blue alien, she could feel that electricity in the air.

Megamind was on his feet, and ignored that feeling like he had torn something in his groin, and grinned wildly at her. She loved it! He had gotten his usual Expert scoring, five gold stars and a note streak of 937 on the song and the rating was 100%. One of his favourite songs to perform, that much was obvious.

"Wow, just wow." Roxanne finally said as she moved closer to the stage, still clapping but slower now. "You're amazing on that thing."

"I know." he replied smugly before laughing, cheeks flushing purple from the exhaustion and embarrassment he felt. "Thank you. Comes from hours of being a shut in and playing it, before neighbours complained about the noise." he added with a grin.

"Tch." she rolled her eyes. "How rude." but then she was up there besides him on the stage, looking at the guitar in his hands. "Show me how to play."

"You want to?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course I do. It looks like a lot of fun, sure I'll probably suck at it but-"

"You will not!" Megamind gasped as he unshouldered the guitar and strung it over her shoulders, "We'll start you on something easy, I'll show you how it's done..."

Roxanne watched as he shifted through the available titles and he ended on the Beginner listing, "So how about this... Say it Ain't So by Weezer? I can set it to easy." Megamind explained as he did just that.

What followed was Megamind positioning himself in front of her and showing her what to do when, as in what buttons to press with the same colors on the screen, and when to tap the guitar here, or there. Megamind seemed to be so excited over the prospect of showing her how to play the video game, and hoping one day they could play together with Minion on drums, he didn't seem to notice how he brushed up against one of her boobs as showing her how to work her hands. Once he did though, he froze in absolute shock, incapable of moving for a few seconds.

She, however, didn't really seem that phased or disgusted. That sent mixed signals to him of all shapes and sizes but he pushed past them and concluded his small lesson before backing away from her so she could see the screen clearly. Feeling a guitar in her hands again, Roxanne felt grateful for the fact she had learned to play the guitar in high school in order to pass music class. While a lot of her knowledge had vanished over the years, it was like getting back on a bike after not riding one for many years. Some things just felt natural.

Megamind was impressed by just how well she did, granted she wasn't a master at it straight away. Very rarely was somebody a natural and got video games right their first time playing them but she did relatively well. He sang along with her, helping her keep the beat as they made their way through not one song, not two, but at least six.

It was some of the best fun Megamind ever had, you could almost forgive him for forgetting that Minion had still not come back to the apartment yet.

"I been meaning to ask," Roxanne said as they were sharing a drink in the kitchen after most of the singing was done with, "Just how is it you can afford all the things you have on the salary you've got? I mean, I saw your room. Most of that stuff would cost thousands!"

Megamind smiled weakly, looking down at his glass in his hands. "Well. A lot of my uncles back... back in prison knew they'd never be getting out. A lot of them were masterminds at crime and had been deemed too dangerous to return to civilized society. A few of them were even up for murder." he explained quietly, since his childhood and his uncles were rarely a thing he openly spoke about. "A few of them have passed on by now, either... either from fights or illness, or... hm." he looked down, unable to say that the two who had been up for murder had met their end at a needle tip. "But they left their things to me. I have savings but I fell in love with this apartment, with the... I don't know..."

Megamind glanced around the kitchen area, at the 1950 style tiles and coloring. There were some cracks but they had been seen to, and painted over. You could see the lumps in the plaster. He smiled.

"It's home. I feel safe here. So," he looked back at her, "I bought the apartment with Minion and made it our home. It took a lot of talking to get the guy who owns this building to sell it but when I gave him twice the value he didn't argue."

"But if you have so much money you could... you could move anywhere." Roxanne said. Even she hadn't thought much of her apartment.

"It's home." he echoed, smoothing his hand over the counter top. "My home." It was at that moment that his hand brushed against some of Roxanne's fingers and he stopped, his body freezing at the contact. Roxanne hadn't pulled away when he brushed against her before, and even now she didn't move to pull her hand away from him. Inside his chest, his hearts were beating wildly. He lifted his gaze and looked at her carefully, reading her expression.

She was smiling softly, seemingly understanding his desire for a safety in a home, even one on the tenth floor of an apartment block most would over look. Roxanne glanced down at the way his hand was now playing with her own, and she let out a shuddered breath she didn't realize she was holding.

When had he suddenly gotten so close to her? She didn't remember. His blue nose brushed against her freckled one, and his beautiful green eyes were staring at her intently before they slipped shut. His lips just barely brushed hers before she suddenly pulled back, removing her hand, and herself from him. "Wait. Stop." she said, holding up her hands.

Megamind stopped. His hearts, his breathing, the blood in his veins, absolutely everything came to a grinding, screeching halt. He stared at her, waiting.

"I..." she started, before stopping and putting a hand to the bridge of her nose and looked down at the floor. "Sorry I. Hm."

"No no no no," Megamind said shakily, unable to uproot himself from his seat. "It, it's fine. I overstepped. I didn't mean to I just- you just looked so gorgeous and I thought-no, wait. Forget what I thought. I'm sorry. Please. Forget it. Just forget it." he shook his head, before looking down at his hand where he could just feel the fading warmth of her hand beneath his fingers.

"Wayne asked me out. I said yes." Roxanne blurted.

The silence in the room was now deafening, and Megamind knew he was incapable of looking at her now. Anger swelled in the pit of his stomach, and his hearts clenched together so tightly it felt as if they would form one whole heart and then sink even more, trying to dodge the pain that was now ripping through his body. He wanted to demand why, why she would agree to go out with that jerk. Didn't she know he was a low life who did this to women all the time? How could she pick Wayne over him? Yet no words left Megamind's mouth at all. The rage just burned away, eating at his insides and his heart, and he said nothing.

"I'm sorry." Roxanne was saying softly, soothingly, trying to calm the anger she knew he must be feeling. Nobody, hearing news like that, could become so still and quiet without a storm raging inside them. "He just... we've been phoning a lot and... well. He only asked me yesterday."

Now it felt like he could well and truly drop dead on the spot. A day. A single day? If he had done this to her the day before yesterday, would she have pulled away from him? A small part of him said no, of course she wouldn't have. A larger part said yes, for who would want to kiss him? Who in their right mind would want to kiss a blue alien?

"It's okay." he heard his voice say despite the yearning to scream no at the top of his lungs, that it wasn't okay. "I understand. I do."

"Megamind," Roxanne started, moving towards him with arms out as if to embrace him.

He leapt away, finally able to move, and held his hands up, stopping her where she stood and gave him some more space between the two. How cruel that moments ago he was celebrating at being so close to her, yet now it only felt painful to be near. "Please. Please don't." he begged, voice now shaking, cracking at the corners. "Why would you, why would anyone... when Wayne..."

"It isn't like that." she said softly.

"So what is it like?" Megamind suddenly snapped, looking at her, rage and sadness emblazed upon his face. "How is it? Huh? No, no. You know. I don't want to know. I can't know. I don't... I don't..." he put his hands to his temples, and shut his eyes as his chest began to rise and fall. "Leave me alone."

Roxanne, feeling all manner of feelings about both herself and towards the poor man before her, couldn't. What had she done?

"Leave me _alone!_" Megamind shouted, now pleading and begging with her to leave him, and the quiver to his voice startled Roxanne so much she backed away from him.

"Sorry. I'm _sorry._" she said again and again, despite a part of her feeling like he should be the one apologizing, but luckily her guilt was smothering that voice to silence. Her hand found the doorknob and she pulled it open and backed out of the apartment, closing the door behind her. Shaking still, Roxanne stood out in the hallway and felt as though she had just made the worst mistake in her life.

And then it got even worse.

"Ms Ritchi?" it was Minion. Had he been out here all along, or had he just come home? She hadn't noticed. "What happened, you're as white as a-" he stopped talking since from within the apartment came the sound of something smashing against the wall. Roxanne watched as the fish's expression turned from curiosity to concern as he pushed past her and opened the door, closing it behind him.

If she could have, she would have stood there and listened. She would have heard the uncontrollable sobs from the blue alien, and Minion's soothing tone as he tried to calm him. But she couldn't stand there. Instead she turned and hurried down the stairs, but instead of stopping at her apartment she kept going.

She soon exited the building, and went to the only place she could go at a time like this.


	11. Chapter 11

"Ding dong, anyone homo?"

"I am, I am!"

Bernard groaned, rubbing at his forehead. "I hate this show." he mumbled.

"You hate all the television I like. Except Queer as Folk." Steve pointed out from where he lay quite comfortably with his back up against his boyfriend's chest on the couch.

"Mm. That's because the actors are hot. Not because they can act. Honestly they couldn't act their way out of a paper bag with a GPS in their hot sexy little hands." Bernard said as he absently drew circles against Steve's hip with his thumb, eyes lazily on the television screen as Dharma and Greg were getting themselves into another kind of whacky situation which could be resolved in a 25 minute frame.

"You just haven't got a funny bone in your body." Steve replied softly, turning his head to peer over his shoulder at Bernard, grinning cheekily.

"I have _a_ bone but it isn't funny..." Bernard replied as he pitched the tone of his voice down as he gently took Steve's jaw into his hand was about to start down a path that would no doubt result in rocking both their worlds when they got a visitor in the form of somebody knocking on their door.

"Ignore it." Bernard mumbled as he pulled Steve in close, but already the dark skinned man was pulling away. "No, come back." he said dryly yet one could tell he honestly met it, as he lifted his arms and made grabby hands at Steve's retreating back. "Noooo..."

"Oh shh. It could be my mother." Steve said as he pulled on his jeans which he had left by the door.

"Exactly." Bernard replied dryly, to which he got a throw pillow to the face from Steve which knocked his glasses off. "Oof."

"Roxanne?" Steve sounded surprised, as anyone would be finding a young woman in only jeans and a t-shirt at their door at ten forty at night. "What in the world?" he asked, opening the door more for the woman who walked in, arms around herself. "Are you all right you're as white as Bernard's butt!"

"Roxanne?" Bernard asked as he sat up on the couch, suddenly wishing he had done as Steve had done and gone to retrieve his pants. Since he hadn't he just sat there, grabbed the throw pillow Steve had thrown at him, and covered himself despite wearing at least his boxers.

"I'm sorry." Roxanne said quietly, "I didn't want to go home and... I didn't really have anywhere else."

"What happened, were you burgled?" Steve asked, guiding her to the coffee table allowing Bernard a moment to dash into their bedroom to grab his pants and tug them on. "That happened to me a few months ago it's horrible isn't it, I just-"

"No, no. I wish I was burgled." Roxanne said as she slowly slid into a seat. "I just. God. I don't even know I can say it..."

"Did somebody touch you in a no no area?" Steve prompted, looking deadly serious for having said such a childish thing but it was easier to handle this way, oddly enough.

Roxanne gave him a weak little smile, before shaking her head as Bernard finally emerged from the bedroom with some PJ bottoms with lightning bolts on them. "So what happened that was so bad that forced you to come running to our apartment and not the blue guy's?" he asked, but spotting the expression on her face he knew Megamind was not an option. The cause? "What did he to? Did he try to probe you?" he asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Probe? Oh god Bernard you sicko!" Steve gasped as he ran to turn the kettle on.

"No, no... he tried to kiss me." Roxanne admitted.

"Did you hit him?" Bernard asked.

"No!" Roxanne gasped, "I. I almost let him."

"_Almost?_" Steve asked as he grabbed three mugs and set them down on the counter before grabbing the tea bags. "Why, what happened, did you stop him?"

She nodded, then pushed a hand through her hair. "We were just... I don't know. Mucking about. He let me play Rock Band with him,"

"Oh I love that game." Steve said more to himself.

"And he let me have a go. It was all fine, then we were in the kitchen and he was talking about how the apartment was his home and how he felt safe there. He was happy. I hadn't seen him so... really happy before." Roxanne smiled sadly, remembering that content expression on the blue man's face.

"So he tried to kiss you and you told him no?" Bernard asked, pulling out a chair and sitting down across from her.

She nodded weakly. "I told him that... that Wayne asked me out."

"_What?_" Bernard asked, eyes wide with alarm. "This is the first I've heard of it! What kind of gay boyfriend am I that you don't even tell me these things?" he asked, that unenthusiastic tone of his melting like snow in spring time. "So what did you say to him? Yes? No?"

"Yes..." she added quietly.

"Oh my GOD." Roxanne looked up at Bernard, surprised by how surprisingly... well. Un-Bernard he was being. "Look, to set things straight. I need to know, in order to assess this situation. Did you sleep with him, that night you went home with him from the BBQ?" he asked, and when she gave him a pitiful look he shook his head. "No, I'm not reading faces. Be honest with me, Roxanne."

Roxanne shut her eyes and sighed. "Yes and no." she replied quietly.

Bernard didn't want to know any other details so when she began to open her mouth to elaborate he made a mouth closing motion with his hand, and she quietly obeyed. He made no attempt to mask his disgust with a noise from the back of his throat. "Oh god, Roxanne. I thought you were smarter then that."

"Why does everyone tell me that?" Roxanne asked, getting frustrated, "Because I'm obviously not! Wayne's a decent guy, he's polite, considerate, plays the guitar, sure he's a little tone deaf but his heart's in the right place!"

"It's because he _does_ this to women." Bernard said, "He reels them in, dates them for a little while, and then ends up tossing them to the side once he gets bored with them and wants a new toy. I told you about him the day you started, did you think I was kidding?" Bernard asked, to which Roxanne shrugged her shoulders.

"But my question is, Roxanne..." Steve was tapping the kettle, as if tapping would quicken the art of boiling water. "If you hadn't agreed to go out with Wayne, would you have let Megamind kiss you?"

She was quiet, and busied herself by cleaning her nails on her left hand with her right thumb. She had been trying so hard to not think about that subject but here it was again. Megamind, the nerd, the neighbor, the guy she could talk to and be honest and lay about in casual clothes with... he always made her feel comfortable. Never had he asked her details about personal, private things. He knew how to make her laugh, and she had never seen such genuine friendship between two beings then that she saw between him and Minion. The passion he had for the things he cared most about was almost intimidating, since she herself certainly never expressed such a passion for anything in her life.

Megamind was special, not just because he was the last of his species, that he was blue, or an alien. There was something _there_, something like a butterfly stuck inside a caterpillar but wasn't aware of how special, or beautiful it was. She had heard his pain, seen it in his face, when he was talking about Wayne. He compared himself to Wayne. Wayne had 'won'. Wayne had gotten her.

What if it all was a game to Wayne? What if he _made_ a habit of dating all the women in the office so Megamind would have an inferiority complex whenever he spoke to one, knowing they had been Wayne's at some point? Was that what this was all about? She saw how he spoke to Megamind, the way he always stood over him and the body language oozed superiority and dominance while Megamind very rarely even looked at him when they talked, putting up mental blocks to keep the man out.

Unless she was all imagining this. Was Megamind in a way making her feel sorry for him? She didn't see him ask for pity or a hand out from anyone before, so to think this was all so she would feel bad for liking Wayne...

"Roxanne?" Steve asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Huh?" she blinked, surprised.

"You spaced out on us, we were a little worried." Steve said.

"Sorry. It's just a lot to think about..." Roxanne whispered.

"He likes you." Bernard said straight up, causing Roxanne to look at him. "He's liked you for a long time. I could tell, the way he teased you at work and the way you two always eventually ended up talking. I never seen him take to anyone else like that. On top of that, he punched Wayne in the jaw the other day."

"You never told me that!" Roxanne gasped, to which Steve nodded in agreement, having not heard this story.

"Details." Steve said, snapping his fingers.

"I think he hated him for taking you home after the BBQ and was telling him to stop treating women, or you in particular, as if they were throw away objects. I guess Wayne didn't boast about it to you, since you never mentioned it." Bernard shrugged his shoulders. "So. Yeah. He's had it hot for you."

"And you never told me this why?" demanded Roxanne, angry now.

"I'm surprised you couldn't see it." Bernard replied honestly. "Honestly. You were going around his place every other day. You have video game nights. Movie nights. You sit with them at lunch. You don't do any of that with Wayne, yet you agreed to go out with him. Why?"

"Why?" Roxanne asked, face flushing.

"Yeah. Why? If he's so great why haven't you been spending half the time you have with Megamind with him? Because if it's because he's what society would expect of you, then we can stop being friends this instant." Bernard said sternly, causing Steve to look at him in a concerned way. In all the time he had known his boyfriend he had never seen him so... well. Passionate about something.

"And why is that?" glared the woman, face flushing red still.

"Why? Look at me." Bernard put his hands to his chest. "I was raised in a strict Catholic family. It was expected for me to find a pretty girl in Sunday School, get married, and have a slew of babies and continue doing what my family's been doing for generations. Instead I turn out to be gay. I love dick. I love men. I love Steve." he gestured to his boyfriend, who was now making the tea but still watching him quietly. "Do you think society was all right with that? Do you think my _family_ was all right with that? They weren't. I came out to them when I was eighteen and I was promptly thrown out on my rear and told never to come back." Bernard got to his feet, chair scraping on the floor as he did. "I made my choice because I followed my heart, and didn't follow what the world wanted of me. If you're going after Wayne because he's the perfect, handsome, rich man that Disney drilled into your brain as being the ideal man then you really aren't as smart as I thought you were."

Roxanne sat there, shocked. She hadn't come here to be lectured at, yet at the same time having Bernard be the one to tell her these kinds of things was ground breaking. She felt even a little resentful towards herself for never wondering about Bernard's family. Him or Steve's, to be deadly honest. She sat back in her chair, and stared at the table. Wayne was a decent man, that was true. He was a good kisser too, and seemed to know where to touch to make her feel tingly and special... but he hadn't really made her laugh in the way Megamind had.

Wayne was rich, yet Megamind was rich in experience. This was a guy who was raised in prison yet had trekked on through life, grinning and baring it with his best friend at his side. Wayne didn't appear to have friends, more like lackeys, those hanging off him wanting a slice of power. Megamind showed her that as long as you had somebody you could rely on, you could get by.

She lifted a hand and pressed it to her forehead.

"I'm an idiot." she whispered.

Roxanne had chosen incorrectly. Now, back at her apartment block, a blue alien was most likely focusing over what happened. Whatever it was the two had had together was now gone. She wouldn't be allowed to have video or movie nights with the two nerds, nor end up falling asleep leaning against Megamind the way she did every time they had a movie night. Never again would they have contests of throwing cheerios at each others open mouths, taking points from where they hit their faces.

Megamind was lost to her.

"Hey don't give in so fast." Steve said gently, placing a hand to her back and making her jump in her chair. Could he read minds? "I know it looks bad, right now." he said as he set her tea in front of her. "But there's always time for change and improvement."

"But I told Wayne that I'd go out with him, and I even went and told Megamind that." she said shakily.

"Oh jeeze.' Steve shut an eye playfully, "You really did screw yourself over. I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" he pulled his chair in close and sat down, and grasped her knee with his hand. "Now listen up. Tomorrow, you're going to sit down and really talk with this Wayne guy. Tell him that you've thought it over but feel you're not ready for a relationship with him."

"I can't do that!" Roxanne said, surprised.

"And why not? Guys say it all the time. To both women _and_ other guys." Steve pointed out. "People change their minds, Roxy. Nothing is set in stone. Let him know, gently, that you're not ready. That you're fine being friends. Then you have to fix what you did to that tiny butted blue angel you call Megamind." Steve squeezed her knee. "First up what do you want out of him? Friendship? A relationship? Friend with benefits?"

Roxanne sat there, staring at the tea in front of her. What did she want? Back at his apartment, the moment he had been moving closer to her and the briefest of touch of his mouth against hers had made her heart race. She had wanted him to kiss her, for her to kiss him, yet... because of her stupid promise, she had broken his heart.

"I don't... It's..." Roxanne trailed off into silence before frowning and slamming her fist on the table. "I want to be more to him. I want him to be more to _me._"

"First you need to be his friend again. He's no doubt very hurt right now and probably won't want to talk to you for a while but you have to work through his defenses. Don't let him sulk and withdraw into his little shell or he'll never come out." Steve said. "I've seen guys like that. Skin as thick as tissue paper and the second it breaks they turn their backs on the world. You don't want him to do that, do you?"

Roxanne shook her head.

"Good." Bernard said, which caused Roxanne and Steve to look at him in joined surprise. "What? Do you want angry bitchy Megamind in the office? I don't. Even if he is most fun to pick on at those times." he said as he reached for his tea and picked it up. "Seriously."

Steve made a face before looking back to Roxanne and setting a mug of tea in front of her. "So become his friend again. Show him you care, and that you're sorry for upsetting him the way you did."

"But what if he doesn't want anything to do with me?" Roxanne asked quietly. "He was so angry, what if he hates me now?"

"Now who could hate a pretty thing like you?" Steve asked, lifting a hand and brushed some hair out of her face. "You're gorgeous, intelligent, sexy as Hell, classy... nobody could hate you for being human. Not even little Megamind. So." he sat up straighter. "Gain his trust again. Get him to welcome you into his little nerd world again and let him show you as much as you can handle because if you're serious, and you want to be something with him, you need to embrace him. Every single aspect. Even the parts that you're not that fond of." with that he cast a pointed glance at Bernard.

"Shut up. I'm perfect." Bernard said simply before taking another sip of tea.

Roxanne smiled weakly and gave a nod of her head. "Thanks... to both of you... think I needed this."

"And on top of that you're going to sleep here." Steve announced. "I'm not having you walk home through the city streets after midnight, what kind of loving gay man would I be?" he asked, "You can have the bed. Bernie and I can share the couch, it's a fold out."

"I'm not giving up my bed." Bernard said flatly.

"Please, I can have the couch." Roxanne insisted.

"No no no no no. Ladies sleep in the bed, men sleep on the couch. It is gay law." Steve said stubbornly.

"I hate gay law." Bernard muttered.

"You hate everything." Steve teased.

"I don't hate you." he replied softly, to which Steve smiled then promptly bent over him and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I don't hate you either." he whispered before standing up and turning to Roxanne, and rubbed his hands together. "All right, sleep over mode is now activated."

Roxanne had watched the two men fight with the couch, grunting and straining and swearing away like a pair of handy men until the bed finally folded out. There was a celebratory cheer (though Bernard just raised his arms half way and gave an unenthusiastic 'yay' in celebration) before Steve started making it more comfortable with more pillows, and smoothing out their bed for Roxanne to sleep on. He insisted she sit, since she had a lot to think about and it was right for them to do all the manly stuff.

She was soon laying in the queen sized bed, taking in her surroundings. Bernard and Steve's bedroom was very plain in appearance compared to Megamind's. The walls were cream, and there were photographs on one wall of the two men in various locations, little holiday snaps. The room was incredibly neat and tidy, and she wondered if it was Steve or Bernard who was the neat freak but after considering who it was out there, she decided it was Bernard.

"Night guys." she called out, "Thanks again."

"Try not to snore too loud." Bernard called back and she could hear Steve smacking the other up the head from here.

"Night Roxy, pleasant dreams." he called.

"You too."

She lay there in the bed, realizing that tomorrow she would have to go back to her apartment to shower and change before going to work. Then she would have to see Megamind, and Wayne, and hope she could make sense of everything. She didn't want to be changing her mind because of guilt, after all... but everything today seemed to have shaken things up. She and Wayne had met up a few times after work, naturally after she walked home with Minion and Megamind, and they had gone on walks through town and stopped at small cafes.

He talked about his hobby of the guitar he played in his spare time, his work out regime he had on the weekends and how he was planning on going rock climbing. It had made him sound very energetic and lively, to know he did these sorts of things. But everything seemed too serious, like he was acting a part in a story. Why had she never noticed this? Was it because she, like many other women, had been drawn in by his good looks and smooth voice?

She hated to think that she had been suckered in too, but she had a dawning realization that she was. Sighing, she rolled onto her side and shut her eyes, and tried to fall asleep.

Across town, a blue alien was doing the exact same thing. He was in the sanctuary of his bedroom, and was staring at Darth Vader who lit up his room with his glowing red lightsabre, illuminating the classic Dalek sitting besides him. Megamind's eyes were still red, his face blotchy with purple markings from the tears he hated having shed. It had been an ugly past hour, and he never wanted to think back on it again.

Never again would he cry in frustration and heart ache, punching Minion's chest with his fists as he cursed the world and his lousy luck. Minion had wrapped his arms around him and had simply held him, unable to find words to fix this, to fix him. Was this why he was better off not attempting to make friends with people, in particular, girls? He had never felt this strongly for anyone before, there was nobody like Roxanne, nobody who could make him feel so... _normal._

But it was gone. Why would she want to even come near him, now? He had chased her from his apartment, all because she had chosen Wayne. How he hated that man. He was so perfect, he got everything he wanted, why had fate been so kind to him? It seemed as though even fate had it's favorites.

Sighing he rolled onto his back and stared up at the Pillars of Creation that was plastered to his ceiling. In the faint red glow of Darth Vader's lightsabre it made the nebula seem spooky, eerie. Reaching over, he turned Vader off, and the room fell to partial darkness but some light still filtered through the partly opened window. The Pillars remained in place, stars twinkling as they had done for millions of years and would for many more.

Slowly he reached his hand up and held it in a way that made it look as though he was reaching for one of the stars in the centre of it all, glowing brilliantly, brightly. Out there, amongst the space dust and stars... that's where he had come from. Maybe it was where he belonged, too. Yet he knew he could never return there. No loving family awaited him, no planet of people like him. He was a threatened, highly endangered species and nobody cared.

Nobody.

Dropping his hand down to his side he shut his eyes and let out a shaky sob, before bringing both his hands up over his face and pressed down against his mouth, nose and eyes, trying to stop himself. No, no. He wasn't thinking these things. It wasn't right to. Just because Roxanne had made her choice didn't mean he had to think these horribly depressing things.

Yet they weren't leaving his head at all. 


	12. Chapter 12

Friday morning came and Roxanne was alarmed to discover that once she arrived at the office, that Megamind and Minion weren't at their desks. Ignoring any and all looks she may receive from those around her she walked right up to their cubicles and looked first in Megamind's, then Minion's. Neither of their bags was there, and it was well past seven o'clock, their normal start times. Where were they?

She turned to Bernard, who, having arrived in the same elevator as her, had trailed after her.

"Huh." he said as he observed the empty cubicles. "I'd like to say maybe they're sick but these two have never called in sick before."

"Never?" Roxanne asked warily.

"Well I've been here four years and they've always been here. The only time they're not here is a week in July when they go to Comic Con and that's it." Bernard explained before turning to another one of the early starters, a woman named Lynette who was just passing to go to the kitchen. "Where's the aliens?" he asked.

"Hm? Oh! Those two. They called in sick. Weird, huh?" she asked, before moving on and vanished into the kitchen area.

"They're not here because of me." Roxanne said gravely.

"You don't know that." Bernard said, despite thinking the exact same thing but didn't want to make the girl feel any worse then she had felt last night. "Maybe something happened. Something not you." he added, before guiding her towards her own cubicle. "You go sit. We have a job to do."

"But-" she started, and Bernard hushed her.

"We're at work. We have to do this. Do you know his number?" he asked.

"No..." Roxanne said feebly. Bernard gave her a look, to which she returned sadly. In all the time she had been hanging out with the alien she had never asked for his number, or he for hers. That was pretty lousy of her, why hadn't she ever picked up on that? Because Megamind was always within reach, always.

"Well if lunch comes and you still feel worried and or guilty as sin, just rush home during your hour's lunch." Bernard said before pointing at her. "But don't forget what we said last night."

"I won't." she mumbled before sitting in her seat and ignored all queries as to what she was looking so worried about, since it really wasn't anyone's business.

The morning was dragging, and it felt as though every time she glanced at the little clock in the corner of her computer screen time was going backwards. How long could it be 9:45am? An hour? She frowned at the clock before grabbing her mug, needing some tea. Roxanne was at the kitchen sink just rinsing out her mug of dust when she felt hands suddenly placed onto her hips from behind. This startled her and she yelped, spinning around and pulling away, her eyes wide and she saw it was Wayne.

"Whoa there," he laughed gently, "high strung this morning aren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah. High strung." she replied, forcing the shake from her voice as she brushed a stray hair behind an ear.

"Besides being a little bit jumpy, good morning so far?" he asked, one of his hands moving to hold onto her waist as if he _needed_ to prove something by touching her, as if showing that she was his property or something like that. Roxanne slipped out of his grip, causing the self satisfied smile on the man's face to crack a little. "What's wrong?"

"I'd like to say that there's nothing wrong and brush this whole thing off." Roxanne said honestly, hands moving to her forehead and sighed, shutting her eyes. "It's just... this?" she gestured between the two of them. "I don't... I don't..."

"Don't what?" Wayne asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

"I don't think I can do this." she admitted finally.

The man stood there, looking very confused. It was obvious on the look on his face that he had never been dumped before well and truly dating a woman, no doubt he was the one to normally do the dumping too. He blinked finally, and shook his head. "And why not?" he asked.

"I..." Roxanne started, and trailed off.

"Surely you can't be scared of little old me." he smiled, reaching out to her again and managing to capturing one of her hands in his own. "You were so happy before, what happened? Think I'll be a little too fast paced for you?"

"No." she said, trying to tug her hand free but found herself incapable of doing so. It was like his grip was made of steel.

"So just tell me, what is it?" Wayne asked.

"I made a mistake." Roxanne admitted quietly, still trying to free her hand. "I thought I'd made the right choice but I know I haven't."

"You talk as if I'm a brand of laundry detergent." Wayne said as the charm and warmth of his voice began dropping by the way side slightly. "A mistake? Are you calling me a mistake? You didn't think so on the night of the BBQ."

"That was a mistake!" she finally blurted. "Why do you think I didn't want to go all the way with you? You didn't feel completely right then, you don't feel right now. Just accept I've out grown you." Roxanne added, still trying to pull her hand away yet now it seemed fairly impossible. "Let me go."

Wayne stared at her, and the expression on his face was devoid of any of the charm she had really seen before. While he didn't look enraged, he at least looked stung and hurt, but also confused and his pride, his ego, bruised. "Out grown me?" he echoed the phrase. "Do you even know what you're looking for?"

"Yes." Roxanne said firmly. "Megamind."

"Megamind?" Wayne asked, eyes widening before he gave off a hoarse laugh. "Oh my God, Roxy, please tell me this is a late April Fools prank. Look, my little buddy's a decent kid but he's a total outcast. His only friend is a pet fish, he's a total nerd who's so wrapped up in his own little world! So do you really rather have him? Over me?"

"How can you talk about him like that and call him your little buddy?" Roxanne demanded angrily, "He's done no wrong by you, not by anyone! Yet everyone looks down at him, just because he's different! Now let me GO."

"You heard her, jar head." Bernard said, walking into the kitchen area. "Let the lady go."

"Oh great." Wayne rolled his eyes, "Bernard." he groaned the man's name.

"Look, tough guy, I don't care about your bravado or anything. Let go of her." Bernard growled, walking up to the two.

The two men stared at each other, sizing the other up. Bernard was no match for Wayne physically, that much was painfully obvious. But it still showed real jewels of steel to walk up to a man who could beat him half to death without sweating and demand something of him that he obviously didn't want. Slowly Wayne let Roxanne go, and she immediately ran to Bernard's side but refused to hide behind him like a cowering woman.

"It's over before it started, Wayne." Roxanne said, "I'm sorry."

He said nothing, but walked past the two and out into the office and was gone.

"I feel like I'm going to throw up." Roxanne whispered shakily, to which Bernard replied by putting a hand to her shoulder, steadying her. "His grip was so strong I couldn't pull away."

"He's gone. You're all right." Bernard said, turning his head to look to the door and was grateful to see nobody else had happened upon the scenario. "Come on." he led her out of the kitchen and through the floor to his cubicle rather then her own since his was fairly out of everyone's way and by a window. She sat down, and breathed deeply as he grabbed his water bottle and opened it, handing it to her. "Told you he was a jerk."

"Yeah, you did..." she admitted weakly with a small smile, before taking a mouth full of water.

"Next time listen to the straight gay man. We're very honest and wise, true fact." he said, patting her head as he stood back up and glanced around. Wayne was a no show, meaning he was either at his own desk or had gone to another floor. Either way, better for the two of them. "God he looked like a kid being told no for the first time."

"I think he _had_ never been turned down before." Roxanne said, wiping the corners of her mouth.

"Wouldn't be surprised. Meat heads like him think they're so great, and the way people treat them makes it even worse. Still. You showed him." he said before grabbing a spare chair and dragged it over and sat. "I'm proud of you."

"You too, my knight." she smiled faintly. "I was getting a little freaked there."

"You hide it well. You should be an actor." Bernard smirked.

She smiled at him, before moving over to him and pressing a quick peck to his forehead. "Thanks."

Bernard blushed despite his best efforts, coughed, and fussed in his seat. "Yeah yeah. And his heart grew three sizes that day." he grumbled.

Roxanne laughed, and it had been her first time laughing since the night before and it felt _great._ While the breaking off with Wayne had been far from perfect it was done, like a band aid being ripped off of the body after wearing out its use. If he was a real man he'd get over her, and if he started anything with her she'd do what she did with Hal, report his ass and have him being questioned by the big heads and not even smarm or charm could help him then.

Yet still she wondered about Megamind. What was he doing? She hoped he wasn't doing anything foolish, or stupid. He was too smart to do that, wasn't he?

"Stop worrying." Bernard said, pulling her back to her body. "Just do your work. Then you can go pop in on him if you really want to." he added, before getting to his feet. "Go on girl, shoo." he made shoo gestures with his hands, and she smiled gently as she got up and handed him his water bottle. He watched her go before sitting in his own seat and let out a long breath, and pulled his glasses off to wipe his eyes. "Jesus H Christ it feels like I'm in the freaking O.C or some bull..." he grumbled.

~*~

"Come on now Sir, you need to eat." Minion said while standing outside of his friend's locked bedroom door. "It's no good just sitting in there!"

"I'm not hungry." Megamind's muffled reply answered.

"I _can_ break the door down, you know I can." the fish warned. He had been standing outside this door holding a plate of peanut butter jelly banana sandwiches for at least five minutes and he was getting sick of trying to bargain with his friend.

There was a pause, and a click, and finally Megamind opened the door, staring up at Minion in a tired, sheepish manner. "Guess I should have given you a smaller body." he said.

"Well, so good to see you've seen sense!" Minion said, pushing the door the rest of the way open and forcing the plate into Megamind's hands. "Oh Sir, you need to shower. You look awful."

"Your honesty is appreciated. I feel awful." Megamind replied simply before moving to his bed and sat on it, setting the plate in his lap.

"You don't really plan on just hiding in doors for the rest of your life, do you Sir?" Minion asked, walking up to his friend and sitting down besides him.

"Why shouldn't I?" asked the alien as he picked up his sandwich. "The world's a better place without me. No weird looks. No people screaming. No more feeling like I'm the odd one out in a world full of evens."

Minion sighed, and folded his arms. "You can't let Miss Ritchi do this to you."

"I didn't mention her." Megamind said quickly, biting into his sandwich hungrily but also to fill his ears with the noise of his chewing.

"You don't have to Sir." the fish talked louder. "You can't just shut her out, it's incredibly rude and I didn't raise you to be rude."

"You're not my mother, or my father." grumbled Megamind. "They're dead."

"They are, but their last order was for me to take care of you. And I'm not going to allow you to become a recluse and hide away just because a girl decided to choose somebody else! It happens, Sir. You can still be her friend! We can still have her over for movies and games, what's stopping that?"

Megamind was silent, and Minion knew he had both made a point and touched a nerve. The alien swallowed his mouth full and set the plate aside, before flopping flat onto his back and stared up at the ceiling of his room. The Pillars of Creation stared down at him as always, the pink distant stars forever out of his reach. "...I wish I'd died with them."

"SIR!" Minion gasped, "Sir do NOT think like that!" the fish popped into Megamind's point of view, eyes wide. "Your parents loved you _very_ much! They loved you with all their hearts, all four of them, and spent their last moments alive working on a way to save yours! Not themselves, but _you!_ They wouldn't want you speaking or thinking this way at all!"

The alien scoffed and rolled onto his side, away from the fish and shut his eyes. "Go away."

"_No._" the fish said stubbornly, folding his arms. "I'm not leaving you alone so you can mope and feel miserable!"

"Go _away._" Megamind repeated.

"_No._" Minion said back.

They had reached a stale mate. Nobody could push Minion around once his mind was decided, and nobody could physically push him since he had the body of a 900-pound gorilla robot. Megamind was equally stubborn when he wanted to be, so the two aliens entered into a silent stalemate there in the alien's bedroom and continued to sit there, neither moving or speaking for at least ten minutes.

"...I'm sorry Minion."

Minion blinked his eyes open and turned his fish body so he was looking at Megamind.

"For what, Sir?" the fish asked.

"Everything." Megamind mumbled. "I've just... I never felt this way about anyone before. She made me feel so... happy, normal..."

"Who wants to be normal, Sir?" Minion asked, "It's so boring and repetitive. I rather be me then normal."

Megamind smiled faintly, his eyes still shut. "Mm. But... it was like I wasn't different. Like I was just like every other guy out there and I wasn't blue. Or an alien. My hearts, Minion, they beat so fast whenever she smiled at me. I could look at her and never grow tired of it. But that's... that's creepy. _I'm_ creepy."

"You're not Hal, Sir." Minion insisted. "He did that to all the ladies. You know true beauty when you see it, and you got to know her and you cared about who she was, not just her body."

"And what a body." Megamind whispered to himself.

Minion decided to politely ignore that comment.

"...I'm going to get some air." the alien suddenly announced, and sat up.

"Air?" Minion blinked.

"I need to go for a walk... alone, Minion. Don't worry I'm not... not going to go do anything stupid I just. I want to walk." Megamind said as he climbed out of his bed and made his way to this built in wardrobe and pulled it open, searching for his chucks.

"I really don't want to leave you alone, Sir." Minion said as he go to his feet. "Please let me go with you?"

"Minion." Megamind turned and looked at his friend sitting on his bed, "I need a moment. I won't go far, you can even track it with the GPS in my shoes." he said, holding up the white chucks that had red strawberries on them.

"I don't want to do that, Sir..." the fish mumbled, since the GPS in regular clothing had been something Megamind had once worn when he was on parole from jail back when he was fifteen. Back then Megamind hated the devices, yet now he kept the pair of shoes the Warden had given him the day he had gotten out.

"Then trust me. All right?" Megamind asked as he knelt and tugged the shoes on and tied the red laces and stood up. "I won't be long."

Despite feeling like he should be going with him, Minion watched his friend leave the apartment and tug his hoodie on over his head and vanish down the stairs. The fish stood in the doorway a moment longer before sighing, backed up, and shut the door. He hated, absolutely loathed, seeing his friend like this. Sadly he had seen Megamind depressed like this far too often in their lives, especially back when he was a teenager. Like any teenager growing into their bodies, Megamind's had experienced its own version of puberty. The hair on his chin had began to grow, he had shot up in height (not much sadly) and his baby fat had fallen away.

Naturally being so young and in foster homes he had to deal with normal human children (who teased him without end) and adults who tried to keep tabs on him, or out right avoid him all together due to him being so different. Megamind experienced teasing like none he had ever done so in high school, and had become a recluse in those days. He had taken to wearing black every day, communicated in grunts, and the two would take off, vanishing for days before coming back home again only to be scolded and sent to another psychiatrist (separately of course) to try and work out why they were acting the way they did.

None of them ever got through to the alien, or his fish.

In the end what had saved Megamind was getting out of the foster homes, and getting out on his own in the world. He had found this apartment, and had made it a home. Late night television introduced him to Dr Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, and all the things that he would come to embrace in his life. Now he was normal, happy, content. ...well, almost. At least not now.

Just as he was about to turn on the tv to keep himself occupied the front door knocked.

"Did you forget your keys Sir?" he called as he went to the door and pulled it open, and froze when he saw who was standing there. "Miss Ritchi? Mr. Dunnings? What are you two doing here?"

"I'm only here because she dragged me. There was much kicking and screaming involved." Bernard said dryly.

"Minion." Roxanne said quietly, putting her hands together. "I... I need to speak to Megamind."

"I'm sorry." Minion said as he took up all the space in the door way, giving them both a grim expression. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"Why not?" Roxanne asked, trying to keep her emotions in check. She only had an hour. "It's important I talk to him. Look I know I hurt him, and I'm sorry, I just need to explain to him what's happened why can't you-"

Minion suddenly pointed at her with his large metallic hand. "No _you_ listen. You come into our world, you make him feel as if he finally belongs on this planet and he has a chance at something he's only ever dared to dream about and then you just...!" the passion in his voice lessened, and his robot body sagged from exertion, forcing himself to calm down. Being angry would do no good for anyone. "I'm not mad at you, I honestly am not. I'm just disappointed that things had to happen this way, for all parties involved."

"But I want to tell him what he means to me!" Roxanne begged.

"Well you can't!" Minion snapped back.

"Why not?" Bernard asked.

"He isn't here." Minion concluded.

Roxanne and Bernard stared at the fish blankly. "Where is he?" Roxanne asked, deciding not to launch her anger at the fish less he ban her from ever speaking to his friend again. God, why was she feeling like she was talking to a parent?

"Walking. He needed to clear his head. And it takes a lot of time to clear his!" Minion said.

"I can't imagine why." Bernard muttered.

"Hey." Minion pointed his finger at Bernard, eyes narrowed. "Watch it, Mr. Dunnings. At work you can talk down to Sir all you please but on my territory you go by _my_ rules. We don't judge or comment at you, so don't go doing it to us."

Bernard frowned, before shoving his hands into his pockets and stared down at the ground. He too was having flashbacks of being scolded by his father, or a Priest, when he would act up as a child. It wasn't a happy trip down memory lane, but it was enough to pull his sharp tongue into gear. "Right. Sorry."

"That's better." the fish said with a nod of his little body. "Now as I said, Sir is not here. He's been feeling quite miserable and I'm glad to see he at least had the right state of mind to realize when he needed a breather."

"Let me get this straight," Bernard said slowly, "you let your alien friend, who is very depressed because of Roxanne being a tart, just walk out of here? What's stopping him throwing himself off a bridge or under a bus?"

"You think he's suicidal?" Roxanne asked, the guilt she had been feeling since yesterday now well and truly smothering her under it's immense weight.

"Sir has _never_ been that way. And it's called trust." Minion said, eyes narrowing at Bernard. "I've known Sir all my life and even when things look their darkest he has never fallen so far from me that he would injure himself on purpose."

"Well I hope you're right." Bernard replied darkly.

"I am." the fish replied just as darkly before turning to Roxanne, "I still don't know how long he'll be."

"Can't you call him?" she asked, wringing her hands now.

"No, Sir left his phone." Minion said.

"Can we wait here?" Roxanne was beginning to feel like she was grasping at loose ends.

"No!" Minion gasped. "This is Sir's safe haven! If he came back and found you sitting here it might bring on everything he was just beginning to get over! I can't have you wait here."

"We have to go back to the office, remember?" Bernard asked.

"Oh hang the office." Roxanne snapped. "This is more important then that!"

Both Bernard and Minion looked a little taken aback by her outburst, and they exchanged a glance before looking back at her.

~*~

Megamind sighed to himself as he crossed the street at the pedestrian strip, surrounded by people of all shapes, sizes, genders and colors. Course, none of them were blue like him, and one little boy who happened to see his face gasped and then squealed in what could be delight, or shock, he didn't stick around to find out. Now he remembered why he didn't usually walk alone, since when Minion was with him nobody dare attempt to comment on his appearance.

Why did he think this was a good idea again?

He passed by FoxStop Comics and lingered at the window, staring in at the collection of comics and other related memorabilia and wished he had brought his wallet. Shopping therapy worked for nerd aliens just as well as it did for human females, didn't you know that? Alas he was without both his wallet and his phone, so he couldn't call Minion to come and bring his wallet to him.

"Lucky day." Megamind muttered to himself as he continued walking down Grundle Street, hardly paying much attention to where he was walking. This way he ended up bumping against people and muttering apologies before walking onwards again before they could get a clear look at him.

Then he bumped into something hard which made him think he had gone walking into a wall. Staggering back he looked up and found not a wall in his path, but Wayne Scott. Megamind stared at him blankly for a moment, first fear and apprehension on his face, but it quickly changed to one of anger.

"Wayne." he snarled.

"Megamind." Wayne said back, voice low. "We need to talk."

"Oh do we?" Megamind asked, as he got up from the floor and dusted at his clothing. "I can't imagine what about."

He walked around Wayne, adjusting his hood as he did but then Wayne's hand was on his arm and he couldn't go any further despite wanting to. "Yes. We do." Wayne said, "About Roxanne."

"What about Roxanne?" Megamind asked, voice raising as he turned to glare at Wayne. "You've never spoken to me about her before now so why?"

"She's a great girl, isn't she?" Wayne asked. "She's confident, attractive and great in the sack."

Megamind visibly flinched, and now tried to pull his arm away but couldn't. He knew why. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because tell me then why, of all people on this planet, she tells me to take a hike because she's found something in you?" Wayne demanded, pulling Megamind closer but also down the side alley in which they were closest to. "What did you do to make it so she'd pick you over me?"

"She pick... she didn't pick me, she picked you!" Megamind shot back, face flushing brilliantly. "She told me last night you asked her out and seh said yes!"

"That was yesterday. This morning she comes to me telling me she'd made the wrong choice, that you were the right one. What did you _do_?" Wayne growled, unable to curb the anger in his voice.

Megamind was loosing the feeling in his arm yet still made no attempt to pull away. He and Minion were the only ones who knew what Wayne was, that he wasn't a normal human being at all. Like Megamind, Wayne had come from a world that was in peril only he had landed in the home of Lord and Lady Scott, the richest couple in Metro City with charities and fundraisers held every other week. Wayne had been given everything he ever wanted, while Megamind had landed in a state prison and through poor teachings of the inmates had ended up earning a thirteen year sentence for breaking most of them out.

What a shock it was, then, when Megamind finally got his first job there was Wayne, glowing and brilliant as ever. Just as spoilt, just as pig headed and obnoxious as he was when he had first met him. Purposely ramming into his space pod, sending Megamind's flying out of control, crashing into meteors and then landing where it had and starting his life down a path nobody ever truly deserved.

It seemed as though they were destined to be at odds, always. And now it was over a woman.

"I treated her like a human being." Megamind said quietly, staring up at the man. "I didn't... I didn't treat her like she was a new toy to get sick of, just like you've done to all the women in the office. She isn't a thing, and she's more then attractive! She's brilliant, she's intelligent, she's funny and she's deep, and everything you don't deserve!" his voice raised as he spoke, the anger and hurt he had been feeling since last night bubbling and boiling to the surface. "She's BETTER then you! THAT'S why she realized before you ruined her! You're nothing but a womanizer; you're like Hal only _worse!_ She doesn't deserve you, NOBODY does!"

Then his world went fuzzy, since Wayne's fist had suddenly connected with his face. Megamind was pushed back and slammed against the wall of the alley and saw the pink stars of the Pillars of Creation dance in his eyes despite them being shut. His jaw was broken, and he could feel the blood pouring from his shattered nose and he felt light headed. On top of that, the force in which he had slammed against the wall, it felt as though one of his arms was broken but he couldn't tell which. Then some bricks from the wall he had collided with fell free and landed, a few on top of him, the others around him. It had been one Hell of a punch.

"_Oh my God._" Wayne blurted, lifting his hands to his face in shock at what he had just done. Never before had he struck anyone, he had always known never to do it. He could break peoples arms like how normal people broke matchsticks if he wasn't careful and he had just drew back and punched the blue alien in the face. The damage was done, one of Megamind's eyes were already swollen and shut, his nose was gushing white blood and his mouth looked very, very wrong. "Oh. Oh God."

Megamind lifted his hands to his broken face, and gurgled something that sounded like "Ow." before he collapsed, landing face first and pinning his broken arm under his weight. Beneath him, where his blood made contact with his clothes and the floor, came a light hissing sound. His blood, white and striking against the darkness of the alley way, began to slowly eat away at whatever it came in contact with, sans Megamind's skin. Already his hoodie was slowly dissolving, as well as his shirt.

Wayne stood there, unknowing what to do. If he was found with Megamind he would be up for assault, but look at how bad it was. People would find out what he was that he wasn't human. What could he do?

What _would_ he do?


	13. Chapter 13

"How do you like your tea, Mr. Dunnings?" Minion asked as he pulled the boiling kettle off of the stove.

"Big and black. Like my men." Bernard said as he looked around Roxanne's apartment, since that was where they were. It had taken them almost ten minutes to convince Minion into going down to Roxanne's apartment with the pair of them and leave a message on the table for when Megamind got back. It stated that when he was ready to talk things out, Roxanne and Minion would be waiting down stairs for him.

Roxanne's apartment was now well and truly lived in, with photographs on the walls and some flowers in a vase by her window. Flowers seemed to be something she was fairly fond of, since some frames were simply pressed flowers showing a date and nothing else. The only photos that seemed out of place were of a helmeted figure riding a dirt bike. "Who's this?" he asked Roxanne, pointing.

"Oh that's me." she replied as she swatted at Minion, shooing him from the kitchen as she took over tea making duties.

"You ride dirt bikes?" Bernard asked, having never had guessed Roxanne would be into such a sport.

"Hmm. I've loved bike riding since I was little. Riding a dirt bike is just a little more exciting." she said as she poured the milk into the mugs of tea for herself and Bernard. Naturally, Minion didn't drink.

"That's a very dangerous hobby." Minion said warily as he too looked at the photos.

"It's only dangerous if you don't know the track and don't keep your bike properly maintained." Roxanne said as she handed Bernard his black tea, before nursing her milk and one sugar. "I've only had a few scrapes but nothing serious."

Bernard smirked, before taking a seat at her kitchen and dining table. "Never would have thought an office girl with heels for every day of the week would be off riding dirts and getting all sweaty in her spare time." he said.

"Hm, well. Gotta keep to my hobbies now, don't I?" she asked with a smile.

Minion, who had been walking across the room to look at some more photos of Roxanne's family, suddenly came to a stop. His whole robot body seemed to stop, and his small body began to lightly drift to the bottom of his bowl. Blinking himself awake, Minion moved to the nearest window and stared out at the city and gripped the curtains.

"Minion?" Roxanne asked, noticing his odd behaviour. "What's wrong?"

"Something." Minion mumbled.

"Huh?" she asked.

"You ever get that feeling at the bottom of your stomach that something has gone really, really wrong but you can't... really understand what?" he asked, turning his body to peer at her while his gorilla body remained where it was by the window.

"Foreboding?" Bernard asked.

"That's it." Minion said.

"Nope." he replied before taking another drink of his coffee. "Mm. Damn fine tea."

Roxanne had made her way over to Minion, before looking out the window with him. Even though she knew not to expect to see anything, she too suddenly had that feeling at the pit of her stomach. Something was indeed wrong but she didn't know what, and she really didn't want to even contemplate that it involved Megamind in some way, shape or form. But still.

~*~

"Male patient, blue skin coloration, unconscious. Found left outside the hospital." an orderly said as he pushed a gurney down a bleached white hallway with doctors on either side of the moving bed. The patient, a familiar little blue alien, was on the gurney with white residue covering his face, throat, and his face was a pulp of bruised and battered tissue. The bruises were jet-black, and terribly painful to look at.

"No ID, no phone, no means of identification." said a nurse as he flipped through a rough report. "Suffering from possible broken left arm, severe facial contusions and trauma to the back of the head. Judging by the bruising we fear his brain might be bleeding. Unresponsive, which is probably a good thing..."

"Cranial size greatly increased, but seems to be the norm. Possible genetic disorder?" asked a female nurse, to which the first one snorted.

"And blue skin? Unless he's a street performer." he said.

"Doesn't look like it's going to rub off." said another, rubbing a thumb against the uninjured arm. They quickly arrived in the emergency operating room and shifted the unconscious, incredibly thin, being from the gurney to the table by grabbing the ends of the blanket that supported him.

"I'll run a check on our data banks, see if something comes up." said the male nurse and hurried from the room as the others began to work. The data bank was basically a medical record of every registered person in the city, and searching could be done easily enough. Just how many people would have blue skin? Those remaining wiped at the drying blood on Megamind's nose, face and jaw but found even the trace amounts of his blood, while dried, greatly affected their tools and material.

"Blood's corrosive. Never seen anything like this." said a doctor as he lifted a lid and saw striking green eyes, glassy and unresponsive. "Like something out of Alien..."

"Doctor we can't administer any injections, the skin melts the needles on contact." said a nurse who had just tried administering something to lower the heart rate that the monitor was picking up as being abnormally high. But then again they weren't to know the alien had two hearts beating against one another. While they had readily increased in speed due to the shock of being injured so severely, hopefully it wasn't enough to cause any lasting damage. Yet.

"Damn it. He's lost a fair amount of blood, if you can call it that." the doctor grumbled as he held up a glove which fingers had been clearly eaten through. He tossed them aside, before gently touching the blue, broken jaw and hissed as he saw some bone just poking through torn muscle and tissue.

The male nurse rushed back into the room as some nurses tried slipping on a breathing mask onto the alien's face, that much at least seemed to be working though the mouth piece began to melt slowly from the blood still stuck to his mouth. "Got a match!" he cried, holding up a few sheets of paper which had just printed out of the computer's printer.

"Spill it." the doctor said as he was checking the broken arm. Luckily this didn't seem so bad, but it would need a cast.

The nurse flipped through the paperwork and paused to stare at a criminal mug shot of the man, though he seemed much younger in the image since he had no goatee on his chin. "Name of Jude Percival John Doe. Estimated date of birth December 3rd, 1980. Prison record number 13571-139144. Convicted of assisting and abetting criminals breaking out and later an attack on an elementary school but was given parole at age thirteen..." read the nurse, "It has one emergency number to Warden Smith at the Prison for Gifted Criminals and... uh. A warning?"

"Warning?" the doctor asked.

"It says 'Find the Fish'." said the nurse before jumping back, since the alien, legally named Jude, suddenly began convulsing and shaking all over. His arms stretched out and his fingers curled, even those of his broken arm while his whole spine seemed to bend and his mouth hung open in a painful, silent scream as the monitors that they had managed to just connect to his head and arms began to beep wildly.

"He's going into shock!" shouted a nurse.

"Strap him down, make sure he doesn't bite his tongue off! Call the Warden, and find that Fish, whatever the Hell that means!"

~*~

"I have that feeling again." Minion whispered from where he was sitting on Roxanne's couch, the poor piece of furniture groaning under his weight.

"Maybe it's gas. Fish gas." Bernard said, before looking to Minion. "Do fish get gas?"

"Well I don't know about your fish but I certainly do not!" Minion said, eyes narrowed, before swimming around nervously in his bowl as if he were a regular every day fish in a fish bowl. "Oh this is bad. This is bad."

Roxanne hated to ask this, but... "What if something did happen to him?" she asked. "What if he..."

"No." Minion said so abruptly it surprised her. "Sir would not. If he did, I would be dead."

"Huh?" Roxanne asked.

"He and I are linked in ways you humans can't possibly understand." Minion replied, his tiny fins gently moving him through the water as he continued to circle. "I can't feel his pain, or his mine, but if Sir was to die my body would die too. The second heart within his chest is a link, practically a part of my own, and when that stops beating I'll die." Minion explained, to which Roxanne and Bernard stared at him with surprised expressions on their faces, even Bernard. "I don't know how his parents did it, but they did. It's my job to protect their son, their child. And if I fail, I die."

"That's pretty lousy." Bernard said, "So you can't have your own life at all?"

"I don't want my own life." Minion said, getting up off the couch and the gorilla body began to pace while the little fish body kept swimming nervously. "You're sounding like those doctors, when Sir was young. Telling me I was suffering some mental illness but they don't understand, we're two halves of the same person and I can't let him down, he's never let me down." he walked to the window again, and grabbed at the curtain as he stared out at the city scene before him. "...he's the reason for my existence."

"So... when his parents put him in that pod they put you in with him and you were told to watch him?" Roxanne asked, finding the whole thing highly touching that this kind of kinship between two different species could happen.

"Here is your Minion. He will take care of you." Minion said.

"What?" Roxanne asked confused by the statement.

"It was the Lady's last words to Sir before she died. It's my life's work to keep him safe, to protect him from harm and the day I let him down and his hearts stop, I die with him so we'll never be apart." Minion said before a sudden buzzing noise startled all gathered.

"What...?" Bernard asked, glancing around.

"Oh that's me!" Minion lifted his wrist and pressed a button. "This is Minion?" he asked. It seemed as though Megamind had built a phone system into Minion's robot body, a handy thing too it seemed since the man on the phone had been calling the other apartment but getting no answer for over three minutes and to a Warden, that was time lost.

The man's voice came over a small speaker in Minion's shoulder, and not one Roxanne or Bernard recognized. It sounded gruff, old, but also one that seemed to demand respect even from over the phone. "Minion, where in the Hell are you?" he asked.

"Waiting for Sir to get back, Warden." Minion replied, "Why, what-"

"God damn it boy, he's in the hospital." came the Warden's voice.

"Hospital?" Minion asked shakily as his body was already moving to the door, unaware of Roxanne and Bernard trailing behind him. "Why what happened?" his hand found the door handle and almost pulled it out of its place as he pulled the door open.

"They don't know. They found him outside the hospital, reckon he was hit by a car going by how banged up his face and body is. Why aren't you with him?" demanded the voice as Minion pulled the door open.

"He, he just wanted a walk. I didn't think-oh, oh. I have to get to the hospital which one is he at?" the fish asked as he started rushing down the stairs, the wood creaking loudly under his heavy feet that was only used to him walking at a slower, gentler pace. But the time for being careful was long gone, his friend, his only family, was in the hospital and he knew they wouldn't be able to help him at all.

"Hospital?" Roxanne asked as she locked her apartment after her, Bernard walking at a quickened pace behind her.

"A car? How could you miss not hitting a blue guy?" Bernard asked.

They caught up to Minion, but missed whatever it was the Warden had said. "Yes, got it. St Michael's Hospital. I'll get there as fast as I can!" Minion pressed something but said nothing more to Roxanne and Bernard as he exited the stairwell and looked around outside. "Where did he- ah hah."

"Minion, Minion wait!" Roxanne begged, following after the fish carrying gorilla robot as it approached a jet black car. It looked like a classic, maybe another possession Megamind had inherited from a dead uncle from jail? "Please, let us come with you."

Minion said nothing as he opened the door to the car and climbed into the drivers seat. Pausing for just a second Roxanne opened the back seat door and climbed in, before reaching out and dragging Bernard in after her. No sooner had Bernard shut the door the car was starting up so quickly the tires burned rubber into the road for a split second before taking off, smoke roaring behind it as it tore through the traffic. "Whoa whoa!" Bernard struggled with his seat belt, suddenly wishing he still believed in a God so he could pray to him and ask that he not die in a car accident because of a fish driving.

"Should never have let him go alone. I told myself. Said, Minion, this isn't right. But he needed his space. He needed to be alone to think more. Oh Sir I've let you down...!" Minion mumbled as he drove.

"Where'd a fish learn to drive in the first PLACE!" Bernard yelped as the fish suddenly did a sharp left turn and drove in and out of traffic like a professional. One car he passed he just clipped, taking off its side view mirror in his wake.

Roxanne was white knuckled all throughout the journey and not just because of Minion's driving skills. The idea of Megamind, alone and broken in a hospital was heart breaking to her. To be dumped at a hospital like a pile of trash, who on Earth would have the gall to do such a thing and not own up to hitting him? She felt tears prickling at the corner of her eyes and roughly wiped at them, trying to clear her vision as Minion continued to drive like a Carp out of Hell.

The hospital was finally in sight and Minion drove up and over the side walk, narrowly avoided hitting a few people, and right through a decorative little shrubbery in order to park the car, haphazardly, in the hospital car park and leapt out of the car. Roxanne and Bernard followed, ignoring the calls of alarm from people around them who were startled at seeing a gorilla robot with a fish for a head. Roxanne was sure Minion gave an old man in a walker a heart attack as he hurried past.

That was nothing to the response when they entered the hospital. Roxanne was surprised by how many people literally jumped backwards in alarm, and some women screamed in shock. Only now was it obvious to her how used to Minion that Metro Cover was. Did he ever go further then the stores he and Megamind frequented? Surely these people would have seen him before... surely...

"Jude Doe!" Minion said as he reached the receptionist, grabbing the desk in his metal hands and probably leaving some dents in the process which only helped to further horrify the poor woman behind it. "Please, miss! Jude Doe!"

"Jude Doe?" Bernard mouthed, but he assumed that was the name that Megamind was given when he was 'found'. No way would they name a baby Megamind, unless they were totally messed in the head. Then again he HAD landed in a prison... Megamind could be a compliment.

A male nurse rushed forward, but stopped short when seeing the monkey suit, before spotting the fish in the bowl. Find the Fish. "Oh thank God you're the fish!"

"Well I'm not a dog! Where is he?" Minion asked as the nurse led him away, Roxanne and Bernard still following. "What's wrong?"

"Severe facial abrasions, nose shattered, jaw dislodged, cranial bruising and we suspect his brain might be bruised or bleeding from the impact. Right arm fractured, easily tended to. His blood, we can't- it's eating through everything." the nurse stammered as they pushed through doors with windows in their centre.

Roxanne couldn't believe what she was hearing. Megamind's physiology was so vastly different it melted things? The scene of Alien flashed in her mind, of when they tried removing the face hugger from the poor bastard Kane that John Hurt had played. How its blood had eaten through floors of metal. Was Megamind's that bad? "You can't do anything for him?" she asked, but appeared to go unheard.

"He went into shock ten minutes ago. We've had to sedate him with a tranquilizer and strap him down before he did further damage to himself or those around him." the nurse said as they entered into another long hall way but this one had large glass paneling on either side.

Minion rushed to one of the walls and practically broke the glass by putting his hands up against it due to what he saw. On a bed, looking so very small and... well... alien, was Megamind. He had a face mask on, helping him breath, and his eyes were half open and glassy.

"I need to go to him." Minion said.

"Only medical staff are-"

The nurse yelped as Minion suddenly grabbed his chest and pulled him up off of the floor so they were face to bowl, his eyes narrowed dangerously and those sharp teeth of his suddenly looking very threatening despite having an inch thick plate of glass separating the two of them. "Your medical staff can do nothing for him. I can. Now unless you want two dead extra terrestrials on your floor, I suggest you shut up and let me in."

There was a stunned moment before, finally, Minion was allowed into the room but only after setting the poor nurse back down onto the ground. Bernard and Roxanne stood out in the hallway, watching. At some point Roxanne had taken Bernard's hand, though he couldn't remember when.

"Who are you two?" the nurse asked, as if finally realizing these two were with him out in the hall.

"I'm his.. um. Friend." Roxanne said shakily, watching Minion intently.

"I'm not even that." Bernard shrugged, "But I know him. We work with him."

"Only family is allowed in here-" the nurse started when he heard a sharp hissing noise from within the room and spun on his heels to watch.

Minion's dome was off, yet the body of water that he hung suspended in was still in tact and on his head instead of what one would expect, to see it splash out and fall to the ground wetting the floor. It was as if it had become solid, like jelly, but still a liquid at the same time. The robotic hands set the dome down before upon the bed (but not on Megamind's body) before reaching for Megamind and tugged the breathing mask from his face carefully before sliding the hospital gown on him up, exposing his body.

"Huh. So that's what it looks like." Bernard mumbled as Roxanne blushed.

"I'm so sorry Sir," Minion said as his robot hands reached and pushed into the gelatine substance that was his water and gently took hold of his body and lifted himself out into the open air. The substance wriggled, wobbled, and stayed in its place. Surprisingly though, Minion didn't begin to gasp for breath like any other fish would when removed from water. "You'll be better soon, and we can get out of here." he said before gently, carefully, Minion's robot hands placed his fish body onto Megamind's chest.

The three long tendrils that hung underneath his body spread out, the front one went straight up so it ended on Megamind's throat, while the other two spread out so they were pointing to his sides.

"What is he doing?" the nurse asked.

"I don't know." Bernard said bluntly.

"Healing him?" Roxanne dared to guess quietly, hands clutching at her chest as if trying to calm her heart down since it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest any second now.

"Healing him, how?" the nurse demanded, "It's a _fish._"

Roxanne held up a hand and actually smothered the nurses' mouth since something was beginning to happen inside the room. The robot body sat there besides the bed unmoving, looking more like a headless robot then the friendly, welcoming body of Minion that Roxanne knew and cared for. The focus point for all three gathered, and the other medical staff that was watching from the other side of the room, was the fish currently sitting still as ever on the blue alien's chest. The tiny balls of light that lined the top of his head began to glow gently, and progressively got brighter still. It soon became very hard to see anything, since the green glowing light was soon joined by a blue light seemingly coming from within the sedated alien.

"What's happening?" Roxanne asked, holding up a hand to shield her eyes from the almost blinding light.

"I can't see anything so don't ask me!" Bernard called back, both hands covering his own.

While the glowing light had progressively grown brighter and brighter still, it suddenly switched off as if someone had pulled out a plug on a lamp. Blinking quickly Roxanne cursed her eyes for taking so long to adjust to normal. Going by Bernard's groaning his eyes must be giving him more trouble, what with his glasses.

"You all right?" the nurse asked.

"Yeah, I just... see spots everywhere." Roxanne said, rubbing at her eyes now.

"Ditto. And I hate spots." Bernard replied, taking his glasses off to massage his eyes.

It felt like a small eternity until her eyes were seeing straight, and Roxanne looked immediately to the bed which held Megamind. He was still there, but the injuries to his face were gone. The only trace evidence to show he had ever deserved to be here in the first place was the burned hospital gown and blankets around him where his blood had landed. His nose was no longer a bloody pulp, his left eye wasn't black and sealed shut by swelling and his jaw had been reattached. Even the scrapes along his head, arms and torso were all gone.

"Where's Minion?" Roxanne asked suddenly, putting her hands to her glass as her eyes darted around, trying to see the fish. He was no where to be seen.

"Did he fall off the bed?" Bernard asked, looking to the floor. "He was just balancing on him..."

As the trio began to speculate what happened Megamind suddenly sat up, gasping violently at the air. His eyes widened as he began to cough and wheeze like a person devoid of oxygen. The nurse raced around to the doors and slammed a button on the wall as he did, which seemed to call at least ten other nurses and doctors, answering the call for distress. Megamind's wrists were still strapped down, as were his ankles, and he withered as he hacked and coughed louder and louder with increasing violence.

"What's happening, is he dying? He can't be dying! He can't die!" Roxanne was aware she was shouting now, and that Bernard was trying to pull her away from the glass, as if trying to stop her from watching the doctors try to push the breathing apparatus back onto Megamind in an attempt to clear his airways.

What happened next was both amazing but revolting. Megamind managed to push himself forward, doubling over himself despite his arms being pinned down behind him. With one sudden lurch of strength, or being freed by a nurse one of his arms was finally free. It grasped at his chest painfully, digging against his heaving body as his large head brought forward and he continued to cough, louder and louder. White substance began to shoot out of his mouth, luckily it didn't appear to be blood since it didn't begin to eat at the bedding. There was no stopping it, suddenly he gave one last heave and he threw up. But he didn't throw up vomit, no. It was a glowing green membrane sack which splattered out of his mouth and landed in his lap.

It was moving.

"...did he just give _birth?_" Bernard asked quietly, having taken a step back when the large lump had suddenly dislodged from Megamind's mouth, since it certainly looked like a protective sack you normally saw on new born animal babies.

With one hand free Megamind dug his fingers into the sack and ripped it open, oozing, hissing blood oozing out onto the bed and began to burn straight through the restraints on Megamind's legs. The doctors and nurses jumped back, the gas given off by the blood making it hard to breathe for all but Megamind. As he peeled the membrane open, what lay within waiting to be freed was no blue alien baby but-

"Minion?" Roxanne whispered shakily feeling as though she was watching a science fiction movie and not the two aliens she had come to befriend and care for over the past month and a half.

The fish was flopping around; gasping for water this time unlike before when he had removed himself from his body. Megamind answered the call immediately grabbing the struggling fish as he got out of the bed just before it collapsed as its legs were eaten away and pushed the fish into the blue gelatinous mass, and reattached the glass dome. All the while the gathered nurses and doctors stood back, giving the blue alien room in order to work at... whatever it was he was doing.

Roxanne and Bernard watched as the little fish hovered in the water, shaking, before he began to slowly sink to sit at the bottom of his dome. Megamind, who was yet to say anything, stood before the gorilla suit with his hands against its chest, watching intently. He watched, waited, hoped...

"...urgh. I hate having to do that, Sir..." Minion finally spoke, to which Megamind laughed hoarsely, and rubbed at the corners of his mouth.

"N-not as much as I do..." Megamind wheezed, voice strained and sore.

"He's all right." Bernard mumbled the obvious, watching as the alien, wearing little else but a half dissolved hospital gown, continue to fuss over the fish despite the shocked nurses and doctors around them.

"Oh good. _Now_ I can cry." Roxanne mumbled shakily.


	14. Chapter 14

In the end the hospital had to call in a HAZMAT crew to come and clean up the mess that Megamind had made of the room he had been treated in. His blood was fairly deadly for human contact so men wearing bright yellow suits, making them impossible to miss, did the cleaning from a safe distance. But by then, Megamind and the rest of his... well, posse, was far from those rooms.

Warden Smith of the Metro City Prison for the Criminally Gifted had even arrived not half an hour after Megamind's recovery. Either way, the alien was being monitored and checked over with Minion, leaving the humans waiting outside since the Warden felt like he needed a good cigarette after hearing about what went down.

"Damn. It wasn't pretty the first time I can hardly imagine it this time," he said, scratching at his fuzzy upper lip with his thumb before biting down on his cigarette.

"So... could you shed any light on what we just... saw?" Roxanne asked, sitting at a chair dragged from inside by Bernard who was lighting a cigarette of his own while leaning against the wall.

"Yes. Please. I want to be able to make sense of the nightmares I know I'm going to have that will be of Megamind throwing up fish." he said dryly before taking a long drag. Normally, Bernard didn't smoke, since Steve hated the stink of it on his clothes and the taste of tar on his tongue but this was a special occasion. Wasn't it?

The Warden chuckled, and shook his head. "I've known Jude-sorry, Megamind, since he first landed in my prison yard. Even I don't really understand how it works but the first time I saw it, the tyke wasn't even six. Some of the inmates were arguing, fists went swinging, and being the little guy he was he caught a real bad slam to the face." he sighed, shutting his eyes at the memory.

Megamind, known as Jude back then, had screamed in fear as his white blood had come from his nose and corner of his mouth. Even more so when it began burning his clothes.

"Minion himself didn't seem capable to comprehend either but he told me to put him into the kids' hands. They touched 'n they glowed. Next thing I know Megamind's throwing up the fish and putting him back in that damn ball. It's like... Minion excretes somethin'. Somethin' capable of fixing what we can't but they have to literally become one being for it to work." the Warden tried his best to explain, but he was a man who ran a prison, and couldn't understand biomechanics of aliens very well at all.

"...Minion said they were two halves of the same being." Roxanne said quietly, "That one of Megamind's hearts is part of Minion's."

Warden Smith nodded before taking another quick drag of his cigarette. "S'what he told me, too. I thought it was bull till I witnessed him healing Megamind that first time. Though from what I can guess it can't happen too often. Don't know how many times they can do it but every time it happened it took longer for Megamind to cough him out. Who knows, maybe one day he'll be unable to cough him out."

"I am both intrigued and disgusted." Bernard announced. "So Minion can fix absolutely anything physically wrong with Megamind but only for a certain number of times?"

"So it seems." Roxanne mumbled.

Bernard just nodded, and remembered just why he had fallen in love with aliens from such a young age. The potential of them having abilities he could only dream of was amazing and he was feeling the same rush now as he had done when he had first seen E.T while over at a friends place. "Here I thought Megamind and Minion were boring." he said to himself.

"They never were." Roxanne said gently, waving a hand to try to keep cigarette smoke from coming too close to her. "Not him. It's impossible for Megamind to be boring... at any time."

Her friend simply smirked.

"Excuse me, are you here with Mr. Jude Doe?" a female nurse hung at the doorway leading into the hospital.

"Yes?" Roxanne got up off her chair.

"He's ready for visitors now. Only two at a time though." she said, glancing at Bernard and quite obviously taking a good look at the man in the tan suit.

"Been meaning to ask, where did the name Jude come from?" Bernard asked the Warden.

The Warden Smith with a shrug, "It's a good song, and _was_ playing on the radio when I first saw the little guy. Percival was my boss' name, and John Doe just worked. Though most of the guys in the prison felt 'John' was homage to Johnny Cash. For all we know it might be."

"Makes sense." Roxanne mumbled as she handed the spare chair to the nurse who thanked her, before carrying it back inside.

"Nnn." Bernard made a face before dropping the cigarette onto the ground and stamping it out. "I think it's better if you talk to him yourself, Roxanne. I mean. That is why you dragged me from the office to his apartment in the first place, am I right?" he asked.

Roxanne blushed brilliantly, unable to get the sudden memory of what lay beneath Megamind's clothes flashing through her mind. "Oh. Yes.." she mumbled.

"Stop thinking about his junk." Bernard teased before patting his own pocket. "I'll give Steve a ring. He'll come by pick me up, I think he might still be at work..." he paused, glancing at his watch. It was getting dark out now.

"Thanks Bernard. For coming with me." Roxanne smiled softly.

"What're gay boyfriends for if not moral support? Eye candy. And I don't want to be just eye candy to anyone. Later Roxanne." he waved, pulled out a cell phone and walked away, already dialing a number dedicated to memory.

It wasn't long until Roxanne was standing outside the door that would lead to Megamind's bedroom. He already had made a full recovery, and could leave the hospital in a few hours only after a few scans of his head and arm had been taken. She stood out there awkwardly, and felt as though what she had just witnessed, Minion healing him, and the aftermath hadn't even happened. It was all back to square one.

The last time she had seen him, he had been emotionally torn in two. He had been so broken and sad, and felt betrayed. Begging, he had chased her from his apartment. How would he respond to seeing her here? Taking a shaky breath, Roxanne lifted her hand and knocked on the door. "Megamind? It... it's Roxanne." she called through.

"Roxanne?" she heard him ask, whisper mostly, to Minion.

"Yes Sir, Roxanne." Minion's voice answered before the door slid open and there stood the gorilla suit, and the small fish inside the head as normal. "Hello Miss Ritchi."

"Hey..!" Roxanne smiled, despite her fears and concerns. "You were... wow. That was, amazing. Back there." she said.

"Oh that? That's nothing. All comes with the territory of being his guardian." Minion replied with a shrug before turning, and putting a hand to her back. "Now you two have a good talk. I'll be leaving you to your own devices." he said calmly.

"You're not-" Roxanne started.

"No. I'm not. I need to go and get Sir some of his own clothes, no way am I letting him leave this place in a flimsy hospital gown that shows his rear to everyone!" and with that the fish was gone, leaving Roxanne and Megamind alone for the first time since the night before.

She turned and finally looked at Megamind who was propped up in a large white bed. There were some machines, with small white suckers, attached to his temples and forearms. A machine that went 'Ping!' did so every now and then, proving he was still alive and healthy. He no longer looked pale, or broken. He looked just as he always did, only not in his nerdy clothing.

Roxanne stared at him, and he stared at her.

"I'm so glad you're all right." Roxanne finally breathed, and took a few steps towards the bed, gauging if he was all right with her being closer. "I was so scared, when. When I learned you were in here."

Megamind made a grunt and looked at his hands, toying with each other in his lap.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

He sat there in his bed, before sighing and looked away from his hands. "I'd like to say I don't remember but that's a lie, and I don't want to lie to your face."

"So tell me the truth." Roxanne coaxed gently. "Was it a car? Or did someone hurt you?" if it was someone, they must have used a metal bat or something seriously dangerous judging by how badly beaten Megamind looked when he was found outside the hospital. "Because they found you outside so somebody must have brought you here..."

"Not a car." Megamind shook his head before scratching at one of his purple ears. "Someone."

"Who?" Roxanne demanded, frowning now. "Who hurt you?"

He sighed and shut his eyes tight before turning his head back to her and opened his clear green eyes and stared at her. "Wayne."

Roxanne felt as if the floor had opened up beneath her and everything she thought went falling down into the darkness. True, Wayne had used some force against her that morning when she had broken it off with him before it got too serious but she never would have seen him as the type to hurt someone. And Megamind? That was a one sided fight if ever she saw one. Wayne was over seven feet, with obvious strength in his body while Megamind was a five foot something and built like a ten year old.

And just how badly beaten Megamind looked, he must have gone all out on the poor guy.

"You need to file a report." she said straight away, "He has to be charged for this, you were.. you could have died!"

"I could have. I didn't. Minion saw to that." Megamind said quietly.

"But what if next time-"

"Wayne won't come near me again." Megamind said quietly, "Because I know what he is, and he doesn't want everyone to know. I know he feels bad for what he did. That's why he at least brought me here, and didn't leave me where it happened."

Roxanne watched him carefully, wondering why he would try to protect someone who had hurt him so badly. "What is he, besides a douche and a hot headed ass?" she asked.

"An alien." sighed Megamind, scratching at his ear again.

"What? No he isn't." Roxanne said, "He's human. All human." she knew this through their somewhat one night stand, what she had felt and saw that night Wayne Scott was every inch a man as any other.

"Amazing isn't it?" Megamind asked shakily, and Roxanne realized she had probably said something very bad. "That there was this other planet out there, where aliens looked just like you homo sapiens. He arrived the same day I did, pink and adorable with perfect hair. But he's an alien. He has strength that exceeds anyone alive, you know all the damage? He only punched me. Once."

Roxanne groped for the chair besides Megamind's bed and sat down in it before her shaking legs gave out beneath her. "Once?" she asked quietly. So that was why she couldn't pull away from him today, he could have snapped her arm if he so wanted to. "Oh my God." she'd had relations with an alien. He had lied, in a way, hadn't he? Not admitting to people what he was. "But... but why hasn't he.. why doesn't he tell people?"

"And risk being labeled a freak like me?" Megamind asked pointedly before giving a scoff of amusement. "Roxanne... Wayne was raised by the richest people in this city. He had everything handed to him on a silver platter, never had to ask for anything. Everyone thinks he's hot stuff, because he is. If people begin to see him for what he is, and he gets locked out of the world he's so used to it would destroy him. No matter how badly I hate the man, I don't want to see him destroyed."

"But you still need to tell the police you were beaten. It's illegal, and he's not above the law." Roxanne urged, trying to push away the memory of the night of the BBQ from her mind. It was an even bigger mistake then she thought but why was she feeling this way now? She had strong feelings for Megamind and he was obviously an alien, was it because he couldn't hide it? Because he embraced who he was, and didn't hide behind a facade of perfection and money? Megamind was so grossly different to men all over the planet, just how much had been made obvious to her today. Him lying on that hospital bed, Minion merging with him and then being re-birthed into the world via the aliens' mouth.

And what was between his legs was definitely not human though there had been some similarities, yet there was also striking differences too.

"...I know." Megamind sighed.

The two entered into awkward silence. Roxanne realized she was playing with her nails, and stopped herself. She had to focus. Despite the importance of Wayne facing justice for what he had done to Megamind they had greater issues at hand. "Megamind, look. I need to talk to you. About what happened." Roxanne said as she gingerly reached out and placed her hand to the bed. "About last night."

Megamind simply looked at her, those highly expressive green eyes of his telling her to continue.

"I made a mistake. A mistake that's even more obvious now then last night." she started quietly. "You see, all my life my mother's told me about how wonderful things will be for me. That, when Mr. Right came along I would know straight away. That he'd be handsome, intelligent, witty, charming, and sweep me off my feet and put me on a pedestal and praise me. I've had my fair few of Mr. Right Now's, but no Mr. Rights." Roxanne explained, keeping her hands to herself despite wanting to reach out and touch his smooth, beautiful hands.

"I saw Wayne and what I thought was finally Mr. Right had come along. He _is_ handsome, and charming. But he was highly lacking in the other aspects... I thought, Hell. Better two out of the rest, am I right?" she asked, glancing at Megamind. He wasn't looking at her, instead he was looking out the window. She mentally scolded herself for going on about Wayne. This wasn't about him. "But I wasn't right." Roxanne continued, "I was wrong. Thinking it through I realized that Wayne wasn't Mr. Right for me last night and right now I _know_ he isn't Mr. Right for me, maybe even anyone if he's hiding behind such a big lie and facade. To be honest, I'm a bit scared."

"What of?" Megamind asked, turning his head to look at her. "Wayne?"

She shook her head. "No. That I've lost my chance with the Mr. Right who was always there but I was too blinded by Wayne to even see past him." Roxanne replied gently, pointedly looking at him. "I know I hurt you and I'm sorry, if there was anything I could do to take it all back you know I'd do it in a heart beat. Because... because you're important. You aren't alone, you can never be alone, not so long as I'm here. You make me laugh, Megamind. You make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world and that I matter to you in no way I've ever felt with any other men in my life. You're intelligent, quick witted, and your only fault is your self-confidence! You're better then you think you are, so, _so_ much better."

"You're just saying that." he said quietly, cheeks turning purple from her words.

"No, I'm not." Roxanne said sternly before bolding reaching out and just gently brushed two of her fingers against the back of his hand. "I mean it. I do. Is there any way for you to forgive me, for making a big mistake?" she asked.

Megamind looked down at her fingers just touching his own hand, and he stared for a good minute. Most would probably take advantage of this kind of proposition. He could very well imagine some men out right asking for some making out, or even sex. But Megamind was not like most men. He _was_ different. He relished in being different. Especially different from Wayne, and other men like him.

Slowly, apprehensively, Megamind closed his hand over hers and gently held it.

"I don't know." he admitted weakly. "First time in my life I don't know the answer to a question. Freaky. But... thank you." Megamind whispered, looking at her and stared into those beautiful blue eyes he had thought of so much in his spare time. They were different from his skin color but reminded him of the sky, clear and perfect. "Thank you so much. For being everything wonderful about the human race."

"I'd hardly call myself wonderful." Roxanne blushed, looking back into those bright green, beautiful eyes. How had she not seen how gorgeous they were? "I've made so many stupid mistakes."

"To error is human. To forgive divine." he said before continuing, "But you are. You're wonderful to me." he insisted, pulling her hand closer so he was now holding it in both of his. "And you came, here, even though you didn't have to."

"Of course I did." Roxanne replied, daring once more to reach out and gently touched his cheek with her free hands thumb and tried to ignore how her heart fluttered when he tilted his head faintly into her touch. "What kind of friend, neighbor, and co-worker would I be if I ignored you? At any point in my life?" she asked.

Megamind chuckled, "Like everyone else?"

"Newsflash, mister. I'm not like everyone else and I'm damn proud of it. Are you?" Roxanne asked, grinning cheekily now, grateful for the fading of the heavy emotion in the air.

He shut his eyes and gave a small laugh. "Damn proud." he admitted, "Not everyone can be healed via fish."

"Okay yeah that? That was freaky." she admitted before she very slowly moved, and ended up sitting next to him on the bed. "How often does that happen?" she asked.

"Only when I'm really hurt." Megamind admitted. "Don't bother asking me how it works. I don't know. Neither does Minion."

"How many times...?" Roxanne asked.

"This is our fifth time. I like to think we're like cats, that we have nine tries at it. But who knows. I could have a million times left but I really don't want to throw Minion up a million times. Yuck. He leaves a horrible after taste." he grinned cheekily, to which Roxanne laughed, and celebrated in the noise coming from the pit of her stomach.

"Oh God, it's _so_ great to laugh with you." Roxanne gushed, unable to stop herself.

"I love laughing with you." Megamind admitted, this time he unable to stop the words falling out of his mouth. His face turned purple, and he stared downwards, before sighing and shutting his eyes entirely. "Sorry."

"No, don't. I was an idiot not seeing how you felt before and a bigger one for not seeing what I felt for you in return." she said quickly, taking his hands into hers and turning so she was facing him more now but still seated besides him on the bed. "Open your eyes. Look at me."

At first he didn't respond, but he slowly cracked one of his eyes open and peered at her.

Roxanne smiled at him, before leaning in and pressed her lips briefly to his forehead. She pulled back, and watched as the alien's face turned to such a brilliant shade of purple it reminded her of blackberry picking when she was a little girl at her grandmothers farm. He smiled at her, despite knowing what he must look like.

"So... what..." he started, but was unable to answer the question.

Were they anything? He had the strong feeling they were friends again but was there anything more to it then that? Should he not try to hope for too much? She had seen him at his worst today, saw just how alien he was and how different. He was amazed she hadn't run screaming or at least threw up from witnessing what he'd done with Minion.

"How about," she said, "we see how we take it one day at a time. I can see you're... pretty new, to this kind of stuff."

"Gee why to bruise a guy's ego, Roxanne." Megamind replied with a hurtful look yet reeked of play and cheek.

"Sorry!" she replied with a laugh. "But am I right?"

"Doesn't matter." Megamind replied, turning his head away and huffed purposely loud.

"Oh stop it." Roxanne prodded his thin chest and he squeaked, turning and batting her hand away. "Oh ho. Are we ticklish?" she asked, a devilish grin crossing her face.

"Oh no, no no no no NO NO!" Megamind ended up letting out a loud, very undignified squeaky, squealy sound when her fingers found his chest and under arms. He burst into pleas of laughter and begged for her to stop while trying to push her off of him. Sadly he was so weak from what had happened and weak in general he was incapable of pushing her off. All he could do was laugh, tears in his eyes, and beg for mercy from the woman.

She, in turn, laughed with him as her fingers tickled against the flimsy hospital gown and he rolled away from her as best he could, kicking his skinny legs against the blanket that covered him as he continued to laugh. She was now bent over him, knees digging against the mattress as she tickled him. Roxanne finally let him go, putting a hand to her chest as she continued her own laughter. It had felt as if she could never really laugh again after what happened yesterday, or what she had witnessed in that hospital room but here she was and it felt fantastic.

Megamind, now flat on his back, breathed deeply with his eyes shut and let out one last weak laugh before it finally stopped. Opening his eyes he stared up at her, watching that content, happy glow that she seemed to give off when she was truly comfortable and pleased, before reaching up and dared to push his right hand through her hair. Roxanne, surprised, jumped a little since she hadn't expected it. "Sorry." Megamind blurted as he began to retrieve his hand, but she snatched it up into hers.

"Stop apologizing." she whispered before bending over him, and kissed him fully on the lips.

His eyes had been opened, so when she had suddenly come in so close he shut them tightly. Then there she was, her mouth against his and he could smell her perfume, the tang of salt in her lips showing she had cried at some point today as well as the taste of her lip gloss. Strawberries. He loved strawberries. But he loved this more, and he hungrily made a pleading noise as his free left hand reached up and grasped at her shoulder, pulling her closer to him as he kissed her back to the best of his ability. He had never kissed a girl before, the closest he'd ever come to doing so was when she had turned him away the night before.

The night before... it felt like a world away now.

Just as Roxanne began to slightly shift herself so she was no longer sitting and bending over him, to lie either against him or even on top of him, both of them heard the room door begin to open. Quick as anything Roxanne threw herself off of Megamind and back into her chair, almost missing entirely and quite possibly could have ended up on her back on the floor while Megamind sat up at the same time, hoping his face wasn't nearly as purple as it felt it was.

The Warden stood there, hand on the door, and raised an eyebrow at the two. He had the sneaking suspicion that he just interrupted something.

"Warden!" Megamind flushed, "You're here?"

"Well I _am_ the soul emergency contact number on your public information." the Warden said as he walked into the room, folding his arms over his chest. "How you doin' kid?"

"Better." replied the alien, casting a glance to Roxanne before looking back at the Warden. "Much better."

Despite having been shuffled from foster home to foster home as a young teenager, Megamind had never really seen anyone but the man standing before him as a father figure. Back when he had been a big eyed innocent he would have spent days making him something for Father's Day, despite knowing they were in no way related. Still, the man had always kept an eye out for him. He kept all the really twisted men away from the young blue boy whilst in the prison, allowed him time to be out on the exercise yard by himself so he wouldn't be intimidated or caught up in any more fights after his first one.

The joke, from the older guards, was when Megamind was out there by himself it was Strawberry Fields mostly since the Warden was known for his fondness of a certain English band but the way the boy would seem so care free and happy out there. It was as if the prison walls didn't even exist to the child, as long as he had his fish with him and some chalk to draw on the floor. That was why on the day he was released on his first parole the Warden had given him the chuck Taylors with red strawberries on them, to remind him that there _had_ been good times within the prison walls.

Said shoes, much older and worn, were neatly tucked beneath the bed even now.

"So, the doctors reckon you were hit by a car." the Warden said, "Was it?"

Megamind and Roxanne exchanged a glance with each other, and she gestured him with a 'go on' kind of way. He swallowed dryly and chewed at his slightly swollen bottom lip before looking back to his father figure.

"It wasn't a car." he admitted.

"Jesus Jude, so someone did this to you? A group of guys?" the Warden asked, unable to help but falling back on the alien's name since it had been what he had been called all throughout his time in the prison. Judging by the severity of the injuries the boy (not really a boy but he couldn't help that either) it must have been a group using weapons of some sort. That's what he had been afraid of, the first time Megamind had stepped out into the wide world; that people would be so challenged by his appearance they would turn to violence.

It had happened, a few times, but they were hardly times he liked thinking back on at the best of times. So he pulled out his phone, "I could get an APB out on them if you remember what they look like. I know it's tough to do it now, but it's always easier to remember directly after the attack once you gain consciousness. Do you remember anything? What the group looked like? Any tattoos or accents?" like any other man in this position of power the Warden had started life as a beat cop patrolling Metro City streets so he knew what to do in cases like this. To get details, make a sketch if a name couldn't be found, and scour the city for them.

"Wayne Scott." Megamind said tiredly. "Only Wayne Scott."

The Warden stood there, shocked for a moment. He knew Wayne Scott, a fair few people did. He was always at his parents' fundraisers and charity galas, such a handsome tall man who oozed appeal and could charm anyone to do anything. "Wayne Scott?" he asked, opening his mobile.

"Yes. But. Wait until he's out of the office before doing anything." Megamind said.

"Megamind, it's eight at night." Roxanne said gently. "It's dark out."

"It is?" Megamind asked, eyes wide as he turned his head to stare at the window. Despite having stared at it during his talk with Roxanne it hadn't even registered that it was dark out.

The Warden excused himself and walked out of the room, already talking into his phone with the police downtown. Putting out an arrest warrant for Wayne Scott, no doubt it would be all over the tabloids by morning. While he couldn't believe it himself, that one man could do all what had been done to Megamind, he believed his surrogate son. He could tell when he was lying, and he wasn't lying about something this serious.

Back in the hospital room Megamind and Roxanne looked at the door, before looking back at one another.

"So what-" Megamind started but stopped when Roxanne reached out and placed her fingers to his lips, silencing him.

"We were somewhere here." she whispered before closing the gap between them. 


	15. Chapter 15

As expected, come Saturday morning there were exclusive photographs taken from outside a fairly posh looking apartment block. Wayne, wearing sunglasses despite it being around ten at night, was surrounded by paparazzi that had caught wind of the arrest while listening in on police broadcast. Microphones were in his face but it looked as though he had made no true comment.

'Golden Boy Wayne Scott Arrested for Assault and Battery' said one news paper, 'Wham Bang No thank you!' said another, 'More Aliens then Thought!' read yet another. There was walls of text about the charges laid against the man, of assaulting an unknown male who had to be rushed to hospital. Thankfully they did not name Megamind, but there was mention that the man who was injured had a criminal record.

"That will never leave me." Megamind muttered as he sat at the breakfast table come Sunday morning. "I was a kid, why do they keep harking on about it?" he asked.

"Well helping twenty convicted criminals escape and then 'attack' a school house will no doubt remain on anyone's permanent record, Sir." Minion said as he poured some tea for his friend.

"It wasn't an attack it was a paint bomb! No one was hurt!" Megamind whined, tossing the newspaper aside.

"You don't need to tell me, Sir. I was there." Minion pointed out before sitting across from him at the small round table. "I'm just glad it's all fairly over with."

"He met parole, obviously, but he's still expected to be at court next weekend. And guess who has to be character witness and victim? Me. I'm sure people will love it." he muttered, picking up his mug and taking a sip after blowing on it gently.

"You'll get through it Sir. You just need to tell them what happened, that he and you were talking and then he punched you. It wasn't planned, it just happened!" Minion said before suddenly growling, and formed a fist with both his metal hands. "If I could get my hands on him and if I could hurt him I'd show him a thing or two for punching you, Sir! He had no right! Short temper or not!"

Megamind smiled faintly, and patted the gorilla fur. "Thanks Minion."

"So when is Miss Ritchi coming over today?" Minion asked, grinning from within his dome. "You two have certainly become close."

"Hnn." Megamind blushed and wished he had kept the newspaper to hide behind. "Well naturally. We're still to watch the Star Wars trilogy, aren't we?" he asked.

"Oh yes! I forgot, what with all the business going on." Minion said, blinking in surprise. "And on top of that, Sir, next weekend is the office Halloween Party."

"I know. I haven't forgotten that." Megamind replied as he got to his feet. "Naturally, as any proper costumer, our choices were made last year."

"I'm so excited! And do you think, with Miss Ritchi...?" he asked.

"Oh I hope so." Megamind grinned before there came a knocking at the door. "That's her!" he gasped and rushed over, opening the door and sure enough there stood Roxanne. "Roxanne!" he greeted.

"Megamind." she replied before leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to his lips before walking in, shutting the door behind her as Megamind licked his lips. She had strawberry lip-gloss on again. "Minion, good morning!"

"Good morning Miss Ritchi. You don't have to kiss me." he added, to which she laughed but did so anyway, leaving a red mark on his dome. "Now what did I just say?" he asked with a laugh.

"So!" Roxanne turned and set her hands on her hips. "Star Wars?" she asked.

"Star Wars." Megamind answered, grinning fit to burst. "Oh man I'm SO excited for you!" he said, moving in close and gave her a quick embrace before hurrying over to the television and turning it on.

"-in local news, Wayne Scott has made bail in regards to the alleged assault and battery case in which he injured an as so far unnamed man. Details are-" the reporter was one of those beautiful women with blonde hair, and probably got to where she was due to her breasts being big. Megamind made a face and turned it to the VCR channel.

"I'm sick of hearing about that." Roxanne mumbled as she walked to the couch and sat down on the edge of it.

"It's like nothing else matters but him." Megamind said, "But right now we can push Wayne far from our minds. Today, right now, is the time for Star Wars: A New Hope." he turned to her, holding up a VHS.

"Whoa, VHS? That's old school." she whistled.

"I refuse to buy the new DVD's. It's like putting a moustache on the Mona Lisa." Megamind said with an indignant sniff.

"Or the chiselled off wang of Michelangelo's David." Minion added.

"The spray-paint on Guernica." Megamind added. "In case you can't tell, we don't like the special editions." he stage whispered to Roxanne, who laughed.

"Just put it in, press play, and snuggle with me." Roxanne demanded, pointing to the space besides her.

"Yes ma'am!"

And so they gathered. Megamind and Roxanne ended up lying down on the couch watching the movie, Megamind on top of a pillow so despite being behind Roxanne he could still see the screen. Roxanne sighed as she felt his arms wrap around her from behind, and smiled. She normally enjoyed their movie nights, and had thoroughly enjoyed the Indiana Jones and Lord of the Rings, but this time he was touching her, holding her. It was vastly different. And she had to resist the urge to want to roll over, face him, and kiss him.

Obviously these Star Wars movies meant a lot to her alien boyfriend, so she was going to pay them as much attention as she could.

From outside in the hall you could hear the opening music, the trumpets and the orchestra announcing the start of a movie, which held a place in many nerds and geek's hearts as some of the greatest movies ever made.

"Oh he's so cute..." Roxanne smiled when she saw the little beeping R2-D2 droid. "He's like a trash can but on wheels."

"I like C3PO." Minion piped up.

"Who?" she asked.

"The gold one is C3PO, Human-Cyborg Relations and the little one is his counterpart R2-D2." Megamind whispered into her ear, and she nodded. Counterpart? So they were partners? That was cute.

And so the movies continued. Roxanne watched as Luke learned the truth about his father, betrayed and murdered by Darth Vader. She jumped slightly when Han shot Greedo in the cantina before taking off to fly Luke and Ben Kenobi to Alderaan. Then there was the heroic rescue of the princess who seemed very sassy and confident despite the dire situations she had found herself. Old Ben's death surprised her, at how he just appeared to give up and let his old padawan destroy him so easily. Along the story went, Han leaving them to get the bounty off his head, and the Rebels attack upon the Death Star before it destroy their home base. It was all fairly thrilling, and she found the humour moments slipped in a good icebreaker for the story before it become something too nerdy and sci-fi like.

Then it was time for the medal ceremony, and Roxanne smiled as the music swelled whilst the crowds clapped. There was R2-D2, fully healed, and C3PO all shiny and new.

"So what did you think?" Megamind asked, as the credits began to roll. "Seeing how you didn't get up and try to leave tells me you must have liked it?"

Roxanne rolled backwards carefully so she was now laying flat on the couch, and staring up at Megamind. "I liked it, though it did start off a little slow with the robots out in the desert it really picked up once they got into the cantina."

"Mos Eisley Space Port." Megamind nodded and he smiled, obviously glad she had at least enjoyed the movie and hadn't disliked it on principal. As Minion got up and rewound the video, he nuzzled closer to her and shut his eyes while sighing happily. "Never thought I'd ever watch these movies with a lovely lady in my arms..." he mumbled.

"Get used to it. But remember," Roxanne said as she lifted an arm and gently caressed one of his ears. "You still have to come bike riding with me next time. It's not all gonna be your nerd stuff."

"I don't know how to ride a bike." he said, opening his eyes.

"What?" she asked, eyes wide. It was her time to be surprised at the lack of experience.

"Never learned. The prison didn't have bikes, and my foster family's kids never let me try so I never tried." Megamind shrugged, "It didn't look like all that fun anyway..."

"Oh but it's great fun!" Roxanne enthused, "The wind on your face, keeping your balance, and seeing everything the way you do when you're riding at the speed you do!"

"But what if I call off and scrape something?" Megamind asked.

"Then you walk it off." she replied, "Besides, we'll… hrm. Make you a helmet, get you some padding on your arms and legs and you'll do fine."

"U-huh." Megamind replied before watching as Minion fast-forwarded the ads on the second movie, The Empire Strikes Back.

"I mean it, Megamind. Promise you'll come bike riding with me next weekend?" she asked.

"Next weekend? That's the Halloween Party!" Megamind whined.

"Before, Megamind. Before." she smirked, rolling her eyes.

"Well... all right. I promise." he said poutily.

"Great!" she pulled him in for a sudden hug, kissing him quickly, but then found herself being pulled in for a longer kiss by her boyfriend. Not wanting to fight it, she kissed him back and gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she did. Megamind was, unsurprisingly, not the greatest at kissing yet but she had promised him to teach him all she knew and he was indeed a good student. He certainly liked to touch her, also. While Wayne did it as a means of showing ownership, Megamind seemed to do it just for the soul purpose of touching her; he had never been able to really touch a girl before. Or anyone, for that matter. To be told he could touch her, as long as it didn't bother her, was like giving a child a key to a candy store.

"Are you two going to be making out through the whole movie, Sir?" Minion asked, to which Megamind flustered and pulled back from Roxanne, face purple. "I mean I understand if you want to do other things..."

"Sorry Minion." Megamind mumbled, while Roxanne laughed to herself.

"Yeah sorry." Roxanne smiled up at the fish. "Press play. I want to see how the Empire exactly strikes back."

"In for a treat you are." Minion grinned as he pressed play.

And so it began. Megamind, gently resting against Roxanne's back watched the movie he had practically dedicated to memory. The freezing cold on the screen made him snuggle closer to Roxanne, and he smiled as her hands covered his where they rested on her stomach. He loved the touch of her, she was so very warm and soft to his sensitive touch. She never shied away from him, and only batted him away when she was in a playful mood. And her kisses, my God. He loved her kisses. The short sweet ones, the lingering ones that made his toes curl and the really, really interesting ones that made it feel like his lower stomach was on fire and breathing became hard to master. He just hoped he continued improving for her, since she deserved nothing but the best he could offer her.

"Feel like I should have a sweater on." Roxanne mumbled as she watched Luke suddenly be jumped by a snow beast, and dragged off through the snow.

"What, my body heat isn't enough?" Megamind asked.

"Surprisingly no." she teased.

And so the Empire attacked the Rebels, forcing them to flee. Luke, listening to Obi Wan, went to Dagobah to seek out Yoda who turned out to be a little green puppet voiced by Frank Oz. Meanwhile Han and Leia just kept getting into their scrapes until finally reaching Cloud City and meeting Lando. The Empire kept getting closer, and closer, and things were beginning to heat up once they arrived and captured Han and the crew. It just kept building, and finally the three were watching Darth Vader and Luke fighting it out on Cloud City.

Darth Vader had cashed Luke onto some contraption and was reaching for him to join him.

"Obi Wan never told you about your father." Megamind suddenly said, along with the voice of James Earl Jones.

"He told me enough!" Minion replied with Luke, "He told me you killed him!"

"No, Luke." Roxanne turned her head to look at Megamind, whose eyes were on the screen. "_I_ am your father."

"What!" Roxanne asked, looking back at the screen as she watched as the realization spread over Luke's face. It was the truth, he knew it, though he loathed to accept it.

"Noooooooaahhhh... nooo..." Luke sobbed, face contorted in emotional and physical pain from the loss of his hand. Then he was falling, and luckily saved by Leia who... somehow, knew to go back for him.

Hand replaced, Luke and Leia watched as Chewbacca and Lando set out to find Han and save him. Then came the blasting music and the credits. Megamind poked at her arm.

"I gotta go pee." Megamind said in a fairly classy way, to which Roxanne laughed and rolled away from him. He got up and jumped over the back of the couch and vanished into the bathroom.

"I've never seen him so happy." Minion said, drawing Roxanne out of the pre-movie glow of thinking over everything she had just learned.

"Hm?" she blinked.

"Sir." Minion said as he recorded the movie with the remote controller. "This kind of joy on his face, by just laying besides you, I've never seen it. Even when we're at Comic Con, where we're in our element, he doesn't smile like this. Glow like this. It's great." he smiled.

Roxanne blushed, before thinking about something and slowly sat up. "Minion. Don't you get lonely?" she asked.

"Lonely?" the fish asked. "Why would I get lonely?"

"Well... you know. Romantically? Don't you wish you had someone to call your own?"

"No." Minion replied simply.

"No?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I think you're lying."

"I'm really not." the fish said. "I have no interest in such things, and besides, I'm a fish. While I've seen some truly gorgeous fish on documentaries I know none of them are smart like me. I'd never be able to converse, to talk about things. I want to, if I ever found someone fish or otherwise, be able to talk. With regular fish I can't."

"Oh..." Roxanne hadn't thought about that. "So you don't feel... left out, or replaced by me?" she asked.

"Heavens no!" Minion gasped. "You mean the world to Sir. You're just a special addition to our lives that I'm quite happy with."

She smiled, and thanked him.

Megamind quickly returned, and nimbly leaped over the couch and landed with a soft thud. "What're we talking about?" he asked.

"Private stuff!" Roxanne grinned, "None of your bees wax."

"It's my apartment, my wax, so any and all bees should report!" Megamind said in a snooty tone to which Minion rolled his eyes.

"Oh Sir. Now come on! We have the last thrilling instalment! And we've only got a few hours of day light in which to watch so we're all still awake and bright eyed for work tomorrow!" Minion enthusiastically gushed.

Megamind groaned loudly and flopped over, landing his head on Roxanne's lap. "Blargh, work." he mumbled.

"Don't be that way." Roxanne said as she began to gently stroke his large, bald head. "We got to see Wayne's face when he shows up to work."

"Urgh." Megamind flinched, opening an eye to peer up at her. "Somehow that isn't helping my mood."

"You said yourself he wouldn't come near you and seeing how he has a case against you in a weeks time, I don't see why he'd make it worse." she said gently.

The alien sighed before rolling so he was facing the screen and Roxanne continued to gently stroke his head. "Play the movie Minion."

"Yes sir, Sir!" Minion replied and did just that.

And so the final chapter played out on the screen, and Roxanne, with her boyfriend and his best friend slash fish watched it unfold. Jabba the Hutt reminded her of one of her first boyfriends in his grabby hands and ability to take up a whole lot of room when sitting down. The daring rescue of Han, their escape from the pit and the sad death of Bobba Fett (though Minion insisted he got out and went on to live a long happy life in the novels). Yoda's peaceful death and the admission that yes, Darth Vader was Luke's father and there was another Skywalker somewhere. More battle plans unfolded, and as the Rebels attacked the second Death Star, Han and the gang tried to take down the protective shield, and lastly Luke finally confronted the mysterious old Emperor and his father.

Roxanne watched, mostly in silence, as Megamind and Minion would sometimes comment to one another or speak the lines along with their favourite characters. She couldn't help but feel a small smile when Han finally told Leia he loved her, and she retorted boldly with 'I know' just like he had at the end of the previous movie. The death of Darth Vader had her thinking of her grandfather, who had passed away just a few years ago from throat cancer. He had always been fairly distant but she knew he loved her, and the family.

The Ewoks were celebrating, Han and Leia were together, Luke saw the spirits of Obi Wan, Yoda and his father together all watching over them and Storm Trooper helmets were used as drums. Then it ended.

"Gets me every time." Minion sniffed from within his water, "So neatly wrapped up."

"Hmmm." Megamind had shifted half way through the movie, moving to sit besides Roxanne rather then lay on her for the entirety. He turned to Roxanne and smiled. "Did you like them all?"

"Yeah." Roxanne smiled, "I liked it."

"Awesome!" Megamind gushed. "Now when the Halloween Party comes next week you won't stare at us and ask who we are!"

"Why, who are you going as?" she asked, anticipating for the worst.

"Han Solo and Chewbacca." Minion grinned. "I'm going as Chewbacca, naturally."

"It's going to be so awesome!" Megamind said, clenching his fists to his chest. "We made our own costumes too, since nowhere are there any stores that carry our sizes."

"That's impressive." Roxanne blinked.

"...Roxanne..." Megamind's voice had suddenly dropped a little, and he had reached over to take one of her hands into his. "I have a question."

"A question?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "Okay. Shoot."

"I was wondering. If you... seeing, well. Circumstances being what they are... if you could... could be my Leia?" he asked, looking at her with the same kind of a hopeful expression of a man who just asked his girlfriend to marry him.

Roxanne smiled, and reached up with her free hand and cupped his slender cheek in it. "Oh Megamind," she said breathlessly, smiling still. "Yes. I will be your Leia."

She hadn't anticipated him practically tackling her, his thin arms around her back and his face buried into her neck as he shook with absolute joy. This meant that much to him? Roxanne made an 'aww' sound and wrapped her arms around him. Minion, feeling as though he suddenly had a whole lot of work to do, got to his feet. He had to look into materials, and which Leia to work with. He and Megamind were wearing the traditional kind of costume, Han in his vest and white shirt and pants. That would have it work with Leia in her white gown, that made sense!

Roxanne glanced up a moment later and saw Minion had left, she turned her head around trying to see where he'd vanished to when Megamind's mouth found her neck and she gave a pleased little purr... "Mmh, you're that excited?" she asked with a small smile.

"Of course." he spoke against her neck, and she felt the tickle of his goatee against her neck as his mouth moved higher, now at her jaw. "Never had anyone to dress up with besides Minion, and to have my own Leia, and it being you... mmmnn.." Megamind growled playfully against her before pulling back and smiling.

"Hey. I didn't say stop." Roxanne smirked, pointing to her ear. "Go on, you were doing great."

"Really?" he blinked, surprised.

She cupped his face in her hands, and smiled at the way his face flushed slightly and he smiled back at her, gently grasping her wrists in his hands. "Really." Roxanne whispered. "You need to stop thinking that you're not good at what you attempt. Nobody starts off great at anything." when she saw him opening his mouth she slid her thumb to it, silencing him. "Nobody." she insisted before gently guiding one hand up to feel the warmth of his head, looking up at it as she did. "I know you're a little scared, too. No denying it, you're pretty darn readable."

"Am I a gripping book, then?" he asked quietly. "Or am I one of those feeble news agency books for a dollar...?"

"You're a page turner, number one best seller in my library." she replied softly. "Come on." Roxanne stood up, taking his hands into hers gently as she did. "Let's go to your room."

"My room?" Megamind asked, eyes widening. "But we just- I don't know if, I-"

"Hey, calm down." Roxanne said gently as she pulled him to his feet easily. "We're not going to do _it_. I just want to lay with you. Nothing more, nothing less. All right?" she asked, trying to calm him.

Megamind wished he was suddenly bolder. He wished he didn't feel so nervous like this, scared of the things he didn't have experience in. Roxanne was so wonderful, she understood and respected he had his fears of intimacy not just because he was an outright virgin but because of their physical differences. He wished he could be everything she truly wanted, truly deserved, instead of wearing invisible training wheels or an L sign stuck to his back. He smiled sadly at her and nodded his head slowly. "All right..." he replied.

She gave him a positive smile, and the two walked through to his room and Megamind shut the door behind them. Glancing around the room, Roxanne walked over to his single bed and made a small mental note that next time they do anything similar to this they go to her apartment, since she had a double bed. It would allow much more room to move, but then again would he feel comfortable outside of his safe place? They couldn't stay in here all the time... but all these worries were best left for another time. Roxanne unbuttoned the short sleeved top she was wearing over her pink tank top and folded it over her arms before glancing up and saw Megamind was still standing at the door, hand on the handle.

"What're you doing all the way over there?" she asked playfully, placing the shirt down against his set of drawers that had his books.

He laughed slightly, and moved closer to her as she sat down on his bed before scooting up so she was laying on it. "Just. Making sure the door was shut." he admitted weakly.

"Minion isn't going to disturb us." she said before holding a hand out to him, which he took easily before climbing onto the bed besides her. Roxanne released her hold on his hand before putting her arms around his shoulders and pulled him against her, and pressed her lips against his temple. "My poor blue boyfriend. You're really out of your element, huh?"

"Only a lot." he squeaked despite his best efforts not to. "You know I never..."

"What you've never done doesn't matter to me." she spoke against his skin, no doubt leaving some of her lip gloss against his blue skin. "All right? I've told you. I'm with you because I like you, not because you're experienced."

Megamind mumbled something against her neck, before tilting his head back. "...so I was doing good, out there?" he asked quietly.

"You were doing great." Roxanne smiled. "I enjoyed it. Very much."

"...can I-"

"Yes." she cut him off, rolling onto her back and half pulling the alien on top of her; something new for the two of them. Megamind pressed his hands against the bed to support himself, one on either side of her, and blinked down at her. His face was visibly flushed, yet at the same time he looked fairly determined because that's what he was. He had to tackle these hurdles head on, or else he'd never get over them and he didn't want to disappoint the girl of his dreams like this. Not after having finally gotten her into his life like this. Roxanne shut her eyes and it wasn't long until she felt his mouth pressing against her exposed neck, and couldn't help but give off a pleased little sound as he did.

Megamind tried to have it come naturally, to not force any of this. She could tell if it was faked, if he was moving the way he was because of seeing movies like this. He opened his mouth and drew in the taste of her skin, dragging his tongue against it gently, as he gripped at one of her hips with his hand. To know he could touch her like this, the way he had only dreamed of for so long, was still mind blowing for him. Sighing deeply he moved his mouth further up, allowing the sound of Roxanne's breathing be all he could hear and focus on. She sounded pleased, and when he took her pierced earlobe into his mouth she gave off a happy little noise and the arms around his lower back tugged him in closer, bringing him right up against her body in ways he hadn't done before.

Roxanne could feel his body pressing in against hers, and she was doing her best not to focus on what, or on what not, she could feel as his lower half pushed against her hip. She was certain what she saw, when Minion rolled up the hospital gown, had been there but now with his skin tight jeans rubbing against her hip all she could feel was the zipper and nothing else. She flushed brilliantly, and hated herself for focusing on something like that, since it wasn't what she had come into this bedroom to experience.

"Oh... that's it..." she breathed as she felt the hand against her hip grip at her closer, his fingers slipping just under her white tank top. His hands were still soft as baby skin and she wondered just how he could do that, typing all day long had been murder on her nails and fingers yet him... "Hnnnn..." Roxanne arched her back, her own hands no longer content with just holding onto his shoulders. She reached down, with purpose, and grabbed the alien's rear in not one, but both hands. Steve had been right, it was a tiny butt.

She felt him jolt at the sudden contact, and she was afraid that maybe she had over stepped a boundary since she heard him gasp into her ear. Both his hands, one on her hip and the other further up, froze, but he took a long, deep breath before moving his nose against her cheek.

"Grabby..." he mumbled before moving one hand up to tilt her chin just right and kissed her. He wasn't entirely sure if it was because of her touching him in a way nobody had ever done before, maybe she had flipped a switch? Megamind, normally the type of guy to think things so deep down he could reach a molecular level right now just couldn't be bothered thinking too hard about it. All he knew was this felt good, it felt wonderful, and he didn't want this to end just yet.

Her kiss tasted of strawberries again, and he found his tongue slowly slide outwards and pressed just against the corner of her mouth. This seemed to evoke a response in the woman since he mouth parted for him, and her tongue was soon sliding up against his own. There was a name for this, but he couldn't remember right now. It seemed to send electric sparks up his spine and ignited a fire throughout his whole being. One of his hands clumsily found her body, grasping for closeness but then Roxanne made a surprisingly deep, heightened sound as he whole body seemed to writher and arch up against his. Both of legs wrapped around his own, and it startled him before he suddenly realized...

...whatever it was he had grasped at was very soft. But not the kind of soft you'd compare to say, a newly fluffed pillow, since it felt fairly solid at the same time. His hand slowly pushed against it, and Roxanne made that noise again, her arms pulled him closer until he was practically flush against her body and he realized just what it was he had grabbed.

One of her breasts.

Megamind's mind was now somewhere near over loading and melting down. Accidentally brushing against her chest a few days ago had caused him to freeze for a second but realizing he had a strong grip on her, now, had his whole body convulse in shock. The kiss stopped, and he pulled back as best as he could as he freed his hand as if he had been touching a hot surface, his bright green eyes wide in alarm. Panting heavily he stared down at her, her clear blue eyes staring up at him with an alarmed expression. She looked a mix of confused, flustered, and embarrassed.

"Whoa, whoa," she was saying as she reached for him, grasping at his shoulders before he could make an escape since judging by his body language it looked like he was reaching a fight or flight situation. "Easy, easy, it's okay, it's okay! You're allowed to touch me, remember? It's okay. I won't hurt you, it's okay..."

He was breathing faster now, and shivering, as he ducked his head so his chin was just touching his chest and stared at her with his eyes still wide. But her words seemed to bring calm, the wild panting slowed, and the panic faded as well. Megamind blinked, the crazed look on his face now completely gone, and his wide green eyes blinked a few times and she could read his expression even without him asking her a thing. "Yes. You can..." she spoke gently, slowly letting go of his arms to gently caress his hips from where he had been moved to a straddling position on her stomach.

It felt like a small eternity before Megamind finally lifted one of his, somewhat shaking, hands and pressed it her chest. She smiled at him, encouragingly, and helped him move his other hand so each hand was now, as we shall say, full. Roxanne desperately fought the urge to both laugh and give off a breathy sound at the feeling, since his face was that of complete adorableness mixed with apprehension. He had been so unwanted by women his entire life, what it must be like to be suddenly with a woman who allowed him to touch her like this... it made her realize how long it had been since she too had been a virgin and had experienced things for the first time. It made her face blush, but not nearly as much as when Megamind began to gently rub her chest.

"'m doing all right?" he asked quietly as his hands continued to gently, almost in a way, massage her chest.

"Y-yes," she replied softly, allowing both her hands to gently caress his thin, somewhat bony hips. "wonderful..."

He smiled hopefully, glad to know, and see, that he was doing a good job so far. Megamind shivered as he felt her hands press up against his hips, and when her thumbs moved at a certain angle it made that fiery, burning sensation that had been simmering all this time suddenly feel like someone had thrown an extra log on the fire. Hissing, he shut his eyes and bowed his head forward. Roxanne sat up slightly, and pressed her lips to the crown of his head, shutting her eyes as she did. She didn't have to wonder why his hips suddenly bucked forward against her hands, but it certainly made her feel quite empowered and excited.

"Nnnhhh..." Megamind groaned, as one hand felt the hardening of the woman's nipple beneath her clothing and his hand moved of its own accord and his thumb pressed down against it, emitting a soft moan from Roxanne. Both were discovering the others buttons, in the safety of his room, and it was making him feel incredibly hot. It was like his skin was on fire, and his jeans and t-shirt weren't helping matters at all. But he pushed his way through it, ignoring the burning feeling, and lifted his head to look at her.

Green eyes stared into blue, both faces equally flushed from the present activity. Roxanne gave a short, breathy laugh as she brought one hand from his hip to his face, caressing his somewhat pointed ear. "You're adorable." she whispered.

"So are you." he replied quietly before the space between their mouths closed again, and their tongues were soon once more getting to know one another. His hips bucked again, and he could feel her legs lifting and slightly pressing against his lower back as he slid slowly downwards from being on her stomach to resting on her lap. Teeth clicked as the kiss intensified for a moment, head radiating from both beings bodies, and one of his hands left her chest to feel her side, gripping desperately though he really had no idea why he was feeling so desperate and needy all of a sudden.

The world suddenly turned on him, and Megamind found himself on his side, and Roxanne's arms down around his lower waist, pulling him close to her body. The skirt she had been wearing which was normally down past her knees had well and truly hitched up by now, and he could feel her warm legs wrap around one of his fairly skinny legs and pulled him in close. Though the kiss had paused, if briefly, at the repositioning it soon lit up again like a fire and they were kissing each other, mouths open, eyes shut and tongues seeking the other out as hands gripped desperately at one another.

He barely even noticed when Roxanne's body began to push, with purpose, against his leg. Megamind didn't even pick up on it, so wrapped up in the kiss and their closeness to notice such things. It didn't take long though, for him to feel a dampness spreading to his legs from the woman's underwear that should have been much dryer then it was now. Megamind wanted to stop, to ask what was going on, but for once the need to ask a question was over powered by the body. Instead he pushed his leg closer to her, and he felt her heart beat quicken. God, he could feel her heart. It felt like it was ready to erupt from her chest, much like his own which were beating so quick it was making him feel dizzy.

Roxanne seemed to slow in her movements, suddenly, and the kiss softened from a roughly edged one to a softer, gently one before her strawberry flavoured lips dragged gently to his jaw, where she placed soft, tender kisses. Megamind, arms still around the woman, gave a shaky smile as he stared at the posters that smothered his walls.

Whatever this had been, whatever had transpired between them was amazing.

"...can we do this again some time...?" he asked quietly, suddenly, breaking the silence ruined only by their breathing.

She gave a small, short laugh and shook her head gently before looking at him, and trailed a hand along his jaw.

"Definitely. But next time? We use my bed." Roxanne replied.

"Deal." Megamind replied.

Roxanne unwrapped her legs from his own, and rested her head down against the single pillow of his bed and shut her eyes. She had a fairly satisfied smile on her face, as she dragged her finger in small circles against his chest. "You shouldn't be so nervous, you know." she said after a moment.

"I shouldn't?" Megamind asked, running a hand up and down her side, feeling the curve of her beautiful hip as he did. Though he paused to quickly tug her skirt down a little more, since he wasn't sure if she wanted him seeing her underwear just yet.

"Mmhm. You have a lot of potential." she grinned, opening an eye to peer up at him cheekily. "You're going to be a great student."

Megamind only laughed, before snuggling down besides her and held her close. Never before had he slept in his day clothes, and never before had he felt quite comfortable in doing so. Because she was here with him, and she'd be there when he would wake up in the morning. 


	16. Chapter 16

Was there someone besides him? Megamind was aware that there was a warmth pressing against his chest when his mind slowly began to gain consciousness after a hard night's sleep, but he couldn't clarify as of yet whether or not it was real or not. He let out a low groan and shut his eyes a little tighter, trying to squeeze as much sleep into his night as possible before his eyes finally opened.

Then he found himself staring into a fuzzy brown mass of stuff, and he pulled his head back, cursing his eyes for getting blurry whenever something was close to them. It was in this moment he realized just what, and who, it was that lay against him in his bed.

Roxanne.

"...it _wasn't_ a dream." he thought, before nuzzling his face into her shoulder, taking in her natural scent. God, she was gorgeous. What had happened last night, while to some it wouldn't amount too much was worth an unmeasurable sum to the alien. He'd been so nervous he didn't know what had stopped Roxanne from throwing him off her and storming out at least a few times. But she had stayed. She had understood.

He tilted his head slightly and he peered at his Dalek clock, and it told him it was 5:45am. Time to wake up, shower, eat his breakfast, read his emails and check his communities on his computer and then walk to work by 6:45 and be there by 7:00.

Work.

Megamind suddenly dreaded it. What if Wayne was there? No doubt there would be gossip all across the company at his arrest and making bail. Would he be there? What if he approached him? He could tell him he didn't want to press charges, because he really hadn't wanted to bring on that kind of situation to the man. Curse his surrogate father for being a Warden and doing what he did.

Carefully he sat up on the edge of his bed, and rubbed his hands against his face before turning his head to peer at Roxanne, who slept on. Seemed like she was a heavy sleeper, which was a good thing since his floorboards tended to creak something awful no matter how lightly he tried to step most mornings. He reached out and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand and he smiled as she responded, curling closer into herself and sighing.

His morning routine was standard as usual. He used the rest room to the best of his abilities, then showered quickly and got into his office clothes but didn't bother with his shoes, instead opting to wear his black slippers that were tiny red-eyed bats. As he was making his breakfast, pop tarts, Minion came out from his room.

"Good morning Sir!" the fish greeted cheerily, despite it being something like 6:20am. Minion always woke up fresh and alert, which both amazed and bothered Megamind.

"Shhhh." Megamind put a finger to his lips as the toaster made a loud 'Ding!' noise as it popped up the pop tarts.

Minion blinked, before he gasped. "Is Miss Ritchi still here?" he asked.

"_Yes._" Megamind replied quietly, unsure if talking in the other room would wake her or not. He didn't want to wake her too early.

"Oh my gosh, Sir!" Minion shook his hands in an excitable way and the fish looked like he was so excited he was fit to burst. "Oh, oh Sir you're growing up so fast!"

"Minion." Megamind rolled his eyes but before he could say anything the fish had suddenly gathered him into his arms and spun him around like a rag doll.

"Good for you!" the fish squealed as quietly as he could.

"Put me down, put me down!" Megamind hissed, and once Minion did he couldn't help but laugh in an embarrassed way, putting a hand to his forehead. "We didn't do anything _too_... well. We kept our clothes on." he admitted weakly, feeling as though admitting this would disappoint his friend.

On the contrary, Minion simply gasped with surprise and clasped his robot hands together. "Oh Sir that is still a milestone! To have a young lady stay over the night despite not going all the way! I'm so happy for you Sir, so, so happy!"

"Thank you." Megamind smiled faintly, before poking the fish in the chest. "And where did you vanish to after the movies were done?" he asked.

"I retreated to my room and started working on Miss Ritchi's costume, Sir! Sadly I had to estimate some of her measurements, but I have the basic design outlined. During lunch today I might have to run to Hina's Hideout and buy some white material to use for her costume."

"You should at least ask her if your measurements are correct before you go cutting anything, Minion." Megamind said as he grabbed his pop tarts out of the toaster and put them onto a plate, hissing as he did since they were still hot. He blew on his fingers and rubbed them on his chest.

"I was planning on it, Sir. I don't want to go and assume a woman's estimates without double-checking first! You know how sensitive they can be about their bust and waist sizes." the fish said as he went to a cupboard and opened it, revealing it was stacked with different kinds of fish food.

"Are they?" asked the alien, blinking his green eyes as he sat at the breakfast table.

"Oh yes, Sir. Some women worry over their physical appearance far more then you'd realize! Those TV commercials and movies about women can be fairly true sadly." Minion said as he grabbed a blue-lidded jar and screwed the lid off before doing the same to his dome and scattered some fish food at the top. He instantly went to the top of his water and began eating.

"...but why would they do that? Women are... well. Roxanne is certainly beautiful. I got to touch so _much_ last night." Megamind flushed at the memory, of her lying beneath him and her hands on his body as he explored her own. His face was well and truly purple now.

Minion finished eating his breakfast before turning in his bowl to peer at his friend. "Sometimes you can't explain why people worry about their size or appearance. You know I don't have any problems, Sir."

"That's because you're a fish!" Megamind said back with a smile.

"A very handsome fish." Minion replied smugly.

"The most handsome." Megamind complimented to which Minion waved a hand at him.

"Flatterer." he grinned.

Since Roxanne was in his bedroom Megamind decided turning on his computer in there would be fairly rude, so grabbing his spare laptop he jumped on the couch and accessed his wireless internet and did his usual kind of thing. Email was full as always, people replying to him on forums, notifications of people sending him messages, all sorts of things.

Then he checked his communities, mostly costume, technology, and Star Wars related kind of stuff. He saw there was yet another query going on in one fandom as to whether or not aliens had nipples or not. He was tempted to post his answer, but then again nobody would trust his admission at all. On the internet, nobody knew he was an alien, after all.

He then paused, before slowly moving his pointer to the address bar and typed in google. He stared at the background image he had selected of a cast photo in grey and white from Star Wars. Taking a deep breath he entered a question into the little white bar and hit enter, but just as the answers began to pop up he slammed the laptop down.

Megamind sat there, and glanced around. Minion was in his room oiling his joints, an integral part of having a robot body. Roxanne was still asleep. So he had at least a minute to seek out some answers.

"Okay..." Megamind breathed and lifted the laptop up, face turning purple as he pulled adjusted his round white glasses and stared at the screen. "Huh... so you touch down there..." he mumbled to himself as he scrolled down a page, before closing the tab and going to another. He flushed at some of the information, feeling embarrassed.

He'd never made these kinds of searches before, but then again he never would have thought he'd need to know the right places to touch or press against to excite a woman without _really_ having sex with her.

The images on some of the page made him feel hot, like last night, so he clicked away before it got too intense. He finally shut down his laptop and sat there on his couch, face still purple as a grape. Why had he gone and done that? Roxanne would have answered all of his questions no doubt, right? But he didn't want to come across as a total amateur to her, that would be so incredibly embarrassing he might die on the spot if he approached her and said 'so what turns you on?'.

After all she obviously liked him kissing her ears, and touching her...

"Come on Sir, time to head off." Minion said as he walked from his room, joints properly oiled and not squeaking.

"Oh!" Megamind jumped out of his seat, almost dropped his laptop, saved it, and then set it down on the coffee table. "Yes of course! Um. A second." he hurried through to the bedroom and discovered Roxanne had rolled onto her bark, one arm curled up around her head while the other stretched out against her.

He smiled, then walked into the room and slipped his slippers off and put on his black work shoes. Once standing, he observed her a moment before leaning over and brushing some of her hair back and pressed a small kiss to her cheek. She sighed, and turned her head to face him, and her eyes slowly opened.

"Sorry." he whispered, "I didn't want to wake you but I've got to go."

"Mnnnghh..." Roxanne groaned, lifting a hand to rub the sleep from her eyes. "What time..."

"Ten to seven." Megamind replied. "I'm leaving you my keys on the table, lock the place after you leave this morning and just drop them off at my desk. All right?" he asked.

She nodded, before reaching out and snagged his collar and dragged him down and kissed him on the lips. It lingered a little while before she let him go, and smiled at him before pushing her hands through her hair. "See you in an hour and a half then..." she mumbled.

"...yeah..." Megamind mumbled before straightening up, and left the room feeling a little giddy.

Now he didn't want to go to work at all.

"You know, Sir, if you really wanted to why don't you call in and use some of our amounted sick leave?" Minion asked as he waited outside the apartments door.

"I can't do that." Megamind scoffed as he shut the door behind him.

"Why not? It's obvious you don't want to work today. Miss Ritchi's on your mind." the fish smirked.

"Of course she is!" Megamind said, face blushing brilliantly purple. "My God Minion, last night...! She was amazing, her... her body, Minion. It's even better then in my dreams. Her lips taste of strawberries!"

"Strawberries?" Minion blinked. "Oh! The lip gloss!" he had wiped his dome clean but he remembered her kissing his dome yesterday.

"Mmmmhh..." the alien sighed in a dream way as he walked down the stairs. "Strawberries."

Minion rolled his eyes, feeling as though he was walking with a teenager and not a thirty-year-old alien who had finally found someone for him. But it was still adorable, so he wouldn't tease him about it. He had never teased his friend in a cruel way, it wasn't in his nature. Of course that's probably how things worked when you were a creation of science and genealogy in order to take care of the one who walked besides him every day of his life.

Was it built in, or not? Sure Megamind got on his nerves sometimes, what friendship remained perfect one hundred percent of the time? They snipped at each other just like any one else, but at the end of the day he would never do, or say, anything to genuinely hurt the other. He'd rather dry himself out first before doing such a thing.

They arrived at work, and as usual the mailroom people were there already and the lights were on. A few other early starters were at their desks, working already.

Turning on his computer Megamind sat down and sighed to himself when the email alerting the floor that Wayne Scott had taken a leave of absence and he would be returning in a month or so. He certainly had enough leave accumulated like Megamind, he never got sick, so he could use this time with no problems of repercussions. Naturally, Megamind could practically hear the gossip in the air.

By eight o'clock the thing everyone was talking about was Wayne being arrested.

"I think it's all a ruse." said a man named Ian. "I mean the guy's great, why would he beat someone so bad they'd be sent to hospital?"

"What if it wasn't him but he was framed?" asked Lynette.

"Maybe he drinks heavily and this happened while he was drunk?" pondered Pina.

"I think the little crook just wants money. Get yourself beaten up by anyone then point the finger at Wayne. Nothing more then a cash grab attempt." muttered Hannah.

Minion wondered why it was people always talked so noisily when at the photocopier, or at the water cooler. It was all getting fairly tiresome, hearing people talk about how great Wayne was and how stupid the person he had beaten was for laying such allegations against the golden boy.

Megamind simply blocked it all out by having his Ipod on loud, and staring at his screen trying to get through the morning. He wondered how many more days he would have to put up with people asking questions like that, some even going so far as to ask HIM what he thought of it all which had never happened before.

"What do I think?" he asked, blinking.

"Yeah." Lilly said as she was photocopying some forms. "Do you think he did it?"

"Why would the victim lay charges if he wasn't really hurt?" Megamind asked, narrowing an eye.

"I don't know. Money?" she asked.

"Not everything is about money." he replied warily.

"Not if you're a Scott." Lilly pointed out before walking away.

Frowning, Megamind walked into Minion's cubicle and looked at his friend. "I don't know how much longer I can keep quiet about this."

"You have to Sir, you can't expose the fact it's you! Imagine the backlash! Wayne has some true supporters in this building and if they learned it was you who sent him to jail for a brief moment of time they might retaliate with physical force. This time, though, I will be there besides you so if they try anything I'll deal with them in no time."

Megamind mumbled a thank you with a numbed nod of his head before moving back to his seat. Minion had a point. He didn't want to be hurt again, and some people truly did respond to bad news by throwing a few punches. Then again, if someone really unleashed some whoop ass on him, he'd just spit his blood in his or her face. _That_would teach them.

But then he realized just how dark that thought was so he shoved it from his head.

He had a job to do, and he wasn't here to stress over Wayne. Not today. The man had been on his mind far too often since their incident on Friday, and he was not going to allow the man to be on his mind for the remainder of his life. He could move past this, he had gotten past every other bully he had come across in his life, why would this one be any different? Hang their history. Hang it all!

He had a life to live.


	17. Chapter 17

"Another day." Bernard muttered as he got into the passenger side of Steve's car, holding his backpack on his lap.

"And you being so bright eyed and bushy tailed no doubt it will fly for you." Steve smiled as he pulled out of the underground car park of their apartment and started driving towards Bernard's work place.

"You don't have to drive me. I can walk you realize." pointed out Bernard, tilting his head to peer at his partner out of the corner of his eye.

Steve rolled his eyes, "I know. Just because of all the crazy you told me about I think you deserve to be driven today. My treat." he smiled.

Bernard gave him a small smile back in thanks, something nobody else but Steve was privy to.

"Seriously. He coughed that fish up?" Steve still had trouble believing that it happened.

"Oh yeah. He did. It was disgusting. And fascinating." Bernard said as he checked his hair in the rear view mirror, making sure the gel was sticking.

"Bleugh." the dark skinned man shivered, before pulling up to the curb outside the building. "Ooh look who it is!" he called, then waved across Bernard's chest to a young woman walking up the sidewalk. "Roxanne! Roxanne! Lady in red!"

Roxanne, wearing a red skirt and black top, stopped as she glanced over to where her name was being called. Spotting Steve and Bernard she smiled and walked over then bent over slightly to peer into the car. "Good morning you two."

"Good morning to _you_!" Steve grinned, hands on the wheel as Bernard began to unbuckle to get out of the car. "Don't you look all lovely today?"

"What, in this old thing?" she asked, gesturing to her shirt.

"No no. You have a certain pretty glow to your face that tells me you got something special last night. Or this morning. Are you a morning person, like Megamind?" Steve asked, smiling pleasantly at her as Bernard rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him.

Roxanne blushed brilliantly. "Uh.."

"It's okay honey, it's a gift. I've always been able to tell when someone's had some. Judging from your little glow you did fairly well for yourself? What was he like? Nervous? Was he shy and adorable?" Steve asked before Bernard, having walked around the car put his hand to his boyfriends' mouth, silencing him.

"I'm sorry about him he's a chronic gossiper. Ignore him and he'll go away." he said flatly, to which Roxanne laughed nervously, still blushing. Bernard suddenly yelped and stepped back, waving his hand. "Oh, gross. Steve..."

Steve just stuck his tongue out at him before doing a 'come here' gesture with a finger. Bernard, disgusted by having his hand licked, still did as he was told and bent down and the two kissed each other good bye. "Try to have a good day." Steve mumbled against his jaw.

"Hello. My name is Bernard Dunnings. Do I know you?" Bernard asked dryly before standing back up. He and Roxanne waved the car off before he turned on the girl, pulling his backpack onto his shoulders. "Details." he said.

"You're as bad as Steve!" she laughed.

Bernard stage gasped, though it was fairly lacking in shock and surprise. "I am insulted. Come on. You tell me something about him, I'll tell you something about Steve."

"I doubt Steve would appreciate that." Roxanne smirked as they turned and began walking to the building.

"I know he tells his dancer friends about me. Call it pay back." Bernard said.

"Dancer friends?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Steve dances. You didn't know?" Bernard raised an eyebrow.

"Well he never said, neither did you!" Roxanne pointed out, pressing the elevator button in the lobby.

"That counts as one thing. Now, tell me something about Megamind." he said, folding his arms and giving her his best 'I'm interested' expression but instead came off looking a little bit less bored then usual.

"...his skin is so _soft_ My _God_ it's like touching a new born!" Roxanne gushed, unable to help the little squeal in her voice. "I have no idea how he does it but my God!"

"Maybe he bathes in moisturizer. I had an ex like that once." Bernard muttered as the elevator finally opened and they walked in, as did a few other people from different floors. "So did you have sex last night?" this question caused a fair few people in the lift to turn and stare at Bernard, then at Roxanne, who was now as red as her skirt.

"_Bernard._" she hissed.

"What? They don't know who I'm talking about." he said before turning to the man closest to him, "You don't know who I'm talking about do you?"

"Uh..." the man replied.

"See?" Bernard said, turning back to her. "So have you?"

"I'm not answering that!" Roxanne barked.

"Spoil sport."

She all but ran out of the lift and used her pass to get onto the floor, escaping Bernard as if he was a cop and she a thief. Roxanne ran for the safety of Megamind's cubicle, squeezing in and ducking down besides him, face still red. Megamind, startled by this, turned and peered down at her.

"Roxanne?"

"If I die of embarrassment right here take our revenge on Bernard. Promise me." she mumbled, hiding her face under the desk.

Megamind turned his head when he heard someone else approach his cubicle, and saw Bernard standing there looking bored as always.

"What did you do?" he asked, putting a hand to Roxanne's back and stroked it gently.

"Only asked her if she had sex with you last night." Bernard replied honestly, not one to lie.

"In the lift." Roxanne mumbled. "All those people."

"I didn't say your name," Bernard said with a shrug, "So nobody knows who I mean."

"They'll think you mean Wayne!" Roxanne shot back, staring up at him from under the desk. "Or worse someone else!"

"So?" Bernard asked.

"So?" she all but shrieked. Megamind, seeing her distress, gently tugged her out from under his desk.

Bernard stared at her, before sighing and shook his head. "Look. If you're going to be dating this guy," he gestured to Megamind, "You have to get used to the fact that people are going to talk. They'll gossip about on whether or not you two can have sex. If it would be freaky and alien like. Would you get pregnant, or through some bizarre twist of fate would you knock him up. They'll be wondering why you went for him when you had Wayne chasing after you at the BBQ. Bottom line is Roxanne, stop caring about what people think. Are you happy?"

"Huh?" Roxanne asked, still twisted from her anger and embarrassment to answer anything straight just yet.

"Are you happy?" he echoed, looking at Megamind, then back to her. "Well?"

"Yes...?" she replied.

"Don't question." Bernard waved a finger in her face. "You're happy with him. Simple as that. So be happy. Anyone else have a problem with you, you tell them to mind their own bloody business and whatever you two do is your own business and not theirs. I know what you're going through. So answer my question. Did you two have sex last night?"

Roxanne blushed. "Technically no."

"But it still felt wonderful." Megamind said honestly, standing up now and had his arm loosely around her waist. "Whatever it was."

"And that, my friends, is what matters." Bernard said.

"Friends?" Megamind asked, eyes widening.

Bernard went silent for a moment before shrugging weakly. "I guess."

"Oh how cute!" Roxanne gushed, "Bernard said he's your friend, Megamind!"

"Ohh this is a Hallmark moment!" Minion, having heard all of this, piped up so suddenly it caused Bernard to literally jump away, eyes wide.

"No photos." he said quickly.

"Spoil sport." Minion teased.

Feeling it was his time to get to his desk Bernard left, muttering to himself about aliens and women in red. Back where he had left them, Megamind watched him go before looking to Roxanne. "He is one strange man."

She laughed, nodding. "Yeah I know. But he's my friend, surprisingly."

Megamind nodded before taking both her hands into his. "Well. You look wonderful today."

"Thanks." Roxanne smiled, "So do you."

"Yes, I'm wearing my hair in a new style. Like it?" he asked with a small smile, to which she whistled. Megamind chuckled before moving in to kiss her but stopped short, and his face turned purple. "Uh. Can I kiss you here?" Megamind asked.

Roxanne thought quickly. Many people would see. No doubt there'd be emails. There'd be talk. She might have, once, looked around to see if people were watching. The woman she was now though wrapped her arms around her boyfriends' shoulders and pulled him in, and kissed him softly on the lips. Megamind made a surprised, but pleased sound, as his hands settled on her hips as he kissed her back. In response to this, his glasses fogged.

They pulled apart and she laughed, despite herself, and wiped at some of the lip gloss that had smudged on his mouth. "Sorry."

"Don't." he replied, "I like strawberries."

"Another thing we both like then." she grinned.

"Oh you two. Get a room or get to work." Minion said from his cubicle, to which Megamind and Roxanne both blushed brilliantly and decided to part, since they did have a job to do. "Oh before you go Miss Ritchi!" the fish reached out, gently snagging her hand as she passed by. "I just have some questions."

"Questions?" she asked.

"Regarding your size, for the Princess Leia costume." he grinned toothily.

"Uh oh." Roxanne mumbled.

"Oh no no, nothing like that! I just wanted to quietly ask if my estimates were correct." he gently tugged her in and whispered into her ear somehow, and the woman frowned slightly, before smiling.

"Wow. That's impressive. You're just off by a few centimeters." Roxanne glanced around before leaning in and whispered the numbers to him before pulling away. "So you're actually going to make it? I could just go hire one..."

"Miss Ritchi! I could not stand by and let you rent when I can create!" Minion gasped. "I've made clothes for Sir since I had my first pair of hands. It's far easier to have something that's made specifically to your size then to find something that just barely fits you in stores. Am I correct?" he asked.

Roxanne glanced down at herself, taking great notice in her wide hips. She knew the strain of trying to find jeans and skirts that fit her, and dresses? Even more hard to find. Smiling she looked at him, then thumped his arm with her fist. "You're a good guy, Minion. If you were a human I'd be telling all my girlfriends about you."

Minion just laughed.

~*~

"I'm surrounded by vultures." Bernard muttered, come lunch time. Minion had left to go to the material store to buy some nice white things to make Roxanne's Princess Leia's costume from, leaving her, Megamind and Bernard to have lunch up on the top level of the building. They had even decided to eat out on the balcony, enjoying the breeze.

"Hm?" Roxanne asked, drinking from a juice box.

"All morning people are asking me about why we were away Friday afternoon. They appear to believe I'm the guy Wayne beat up for some reason." he said sourly.

"You? Why?" Megamind asked.

"I don't know. I guess I just have a punchable face." Bernard replied, stroking his chin in a fake thoughtful way before scoffing and shaking his head before using his chopsticks to pick up his sushi. "I just tell them to leave me alone. Normally that works but today they were extra persistent. Know what I say about gossiping vultures?"

"What?" asked the alien.

"Feed em too much and they'll spread crap everywhere. So I tell them nothing." Bernard said before popping the rice and tuna into his mouth and chewed.

Megamind frowned, before looking out over the cityscape and spread out all around them. He glanced at his lunch, re-heated cheese and macaroni, then back out at the city. "...I should tell them all."

"What?" Roxanne asked, turning to look at him. "Why? They don't need to know."

"They do." Megamind said, looking down at his lunch with a tired expression. "I should tell them that I'm the one Wayne beat up, and explain that through 'alien magic' I was healed by my fish. That I had to report it since the Warden was there."

"But what if..." Roxanne trailed off. "...someone might try to hurt you."

"I'd like to see them try." Bernard said, to which both of them turned to stare at him. "C'mon. You think Megamind will ever be without either you, me, or Minion with him?" he asked. "Minion can deal with anyone who tries any physical stuff and my tongue's so sharp it could cut through people's souls and suck all the living essence out of them. And you, Roxanne, well. You're his girlfriend. You can be pretty damn feisty when you want to be."

"Gee thanks." Roxanne replied.

"It's a good thing!" Megamind said, "That you don't sit by and let people walk over you or say things to you that are.. you know, wrong! You stand up and you tell people to get lost and assert yourself. I wish I had half the confidence you did."

"It will come to you, it will." Roxanne replied, stroking the back of his head fondly. "Don't worry. And he's right." she looked at Bernard for a moment. "I'm not some pretty princess waiting to be rescued. I'd probably taken down my own dragon and save myself rather then wait around."

"I'd pay to see that." Bernard said before eating another bit of sushi.

"...I think you're pretty." Megamind mumbled, making Roxanne smile and quickly kiss his cheek.

"And you're sweet." she smiled.

"And I'm going to puke." declared Bernard before getting up.

"Oh no, don't go.." Roxanne said, looking up at him.

"No I have to. Gotta do some business while I still have time. Catch you two downstairs." and with that he walked back inside and was gone.

Roxanne turned back to stare at the city before looking at the alien standing besides her. "Do you really want to tell everyone?"

"No." Megamind admitted. "But I don't like hiding either. Funny though since once upon a time I'd be happy to hide but..." he trailed off into silence before looking at her, and smiled faintly. "You make me feel like a braver person. Hm. Alien. I'm not a person..."

"No you're not a person. But you can be brave. From what you told me, standing up to Wayne the way you did, defending my honor despite the fact I'd hurt you was very brave." she trailed her hand along his cheek again, before brushing her thumb against his goatee. "There are many kinds of bravery in the world, Megamind. Not all of them involve punching."

He smiled, before moving closer to her and kissed her, unable to hold back the urge anymore. Roxanne truly had changed who he was, if in little dribs and drabs. She accepted him for who, and what, he was like nobody else had ever done before in his life. Having her in his world made him feel braver, like he finally belonged on this planet and deserved to call it home. This was as very nice, new feeling, very much compared to the feeling of having her in his arms, and her holding him back.

The two lost track of time sitting out there in the sun and simply kissing one another like this, and they could have been up there forever if not for somebody approaching them.

"You know it's normally considered poor taste to combine both work and pleasure." the voice said, causing the two to pull apart, Roxanne blushing and Megamind just looked flustered and annoyed at being interrupted.

Looking at the person who interrupted them, both were shocked to see it was Hal. He was carrying a box, most probably the contents of his desk since he didn't look particularly pleased.

"It's also considered poor taste to not keep your nose in your own business." Megamind muttered, more to himself, but Hal still shot him an angry look.

"Hal what are you doing here?" Roxanne asked.

"Gotta clean my desk out. Yeah. I been fired. Thanks for that, you know? It's really great you helped to make my life even more of a misery." Hal said to her, gripping the box to his chest.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have made such sexist remarks." she said, frowning at him as she got to her feet. "Did you think all the girls on the floor appreciated your comments?"

"They never told me to stop! Never did they take me aside and tell me I was creepin' them out. It would've helped you know?" he asked. "And you didn't have to hit me like that. It hurt. More ways then one." he mumbled the last part, more to himself.

Roxanne frowned, but then felt a small twinge of pity. Hal may have been a little annoying, maybe a little creepy, but he'd never really meant any harm. He just obviously didn't think some things through before saying them. She sighed, and put her hands to her hips. "Well maybe this will teach you what you can and can't say to women in the future."

"Yeah some lesson. Be slapped by a bitch, loose your job." Hal said back.

"Hey!" Megamind strode forward, putting himself rightly between Roxanne and Hal. "You don't get to call her that! Nobody gets to call her that!"

"Or what, poindexter? You'll sneeze on me?" Hal asked, already bored with the conversation.

"No." growled Megamind, hands turning into fists. "Apologize to her."

"No, Megamind it's all right-" Roxanne started, grabbing his shoulder, but he pulled away from her.

"No! No it isn't all right!" Megamind shouted, eyes firmly on Hal. "Nobody should call you that! Least of all you!"

"Oh you wanna make a thing of it? Huh baldy?" Hal asked, setting his box down and actually lifted his fists as if ready to start a brawl with the alien. "C'mon, bring it."

"No no no!" Roxanne yanked Megamind back, "Hal get out of here you're nothing but a pain!"

"Gotta have your girlfriend save you huh?" asked the red head, grinning in a triumphant way as he grabbed his box. "Yeah, I figured as such. Later, losers." Hal turned and began heading back to the door, where they could see the other people who had been eating indoors had overheard most of the conversation since they were standing and staring out the windows.

Megamind continued to struggle in Roxanne's grip, still trying to pull out and probably tackle Hal to the ground. Instead he was no match for the woman's grip, and soon Hal was gone.

"Stop it, calm down." Roxanne said, "He's gone. Cool off."

"Hnnngghh!" he suddenly went limp in her arms and she gasped, almost dropping him entirely.

"Megamind! Stop it..." she said in a gentler tone, slowly letting him go and watching as he moved away, brushing and straightening his shirt. "...are you all right?"

"No!" Megamind said back, chest heaving. "He insulted you! He shouldn't even say your name and he called you a... a..." he shook his head, infuriated. "I could have at least hit him! He deserved it!"

"Maybe he did but this isn't the time or place. Nor are you the person to hit someone. You're not Wayne." Roxanne spoke calmly, moving over to him and reaching out to him.

"No I'm not." Megamind said through gritted teeth, but didn't move away when she touched him gently. "I'm not Wayne. Sometimes, sometimes I wish I was. I wish I was normal, that my skin wasn't blue and my head wasn't big and that my eyesight was poor. I wish I could defend your honor like a real boyfriend would. Look at me I can't even defend myself much less-"

"Stop talking like that." she said firmly, turning his head so he was looking at her rather than the floor. "You're right. You're not like Wayne. You're not tall, you don't have hair, your skin is blue and your eyes are a beautiful green you normally see only in paintings. If I wanted somebody like Wayne, I wouldn't be here with you. But I'm here. Aren't I?" she asked, rbbing a thumb against his cheek. "I'm your girlfriend... Jude." she used his name, his real name, for the first time.

Megamind fell silent, hearts still racing, and stared at her sadly.

"Any time you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain..." she sung, gently, softly as she drew him closer and pressed her forehead against his own. "Don't carry the world upon your shoulders..."

"Now you're just making fun of me." Megamind said with a small smile as he shut his eyes, looping his arms around her waist and pulled her in close to him.

"Mmmh." she grinned, "Hey Jude don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better... remember to let me under your skin, then you begin to make it better, better, better, better, better..." she continued before pressing her face into his neck and sighed.

She didn't need a strong, protective, meat headed boyfriend to be happy. Once she would have believed she did, a man to defend her, to give her everything in the world. Yet with Megamind, she felt like she already had everything in the world. He was strong, and brave, in ways so vastly different to the norm it was a refreshing change to what she had come to expect in life. It was her job to show him, to teach him, that he didn't have to change to impress her. All he had to be was himself. That was all.

"Ready to go back to work now?" she asked gently. "And not go chasing after Hal?"

"...ready." Megamind said and gently let her go, but not before giving her a quick kiss. "I've already let you under my skin, by the way." he whispered before letting go and grabbing what was left of his lunch and waited for her to do the same.

"Oh yes?" Roxanne asked with a grin. "And has it made it better?"

"Much, much better." he replied with a smile. 


	18. Chapter 18

The Metro Cover Halloween party was normally held on the weekend closest to the date in question, and held in the same hall that the Family BBQ Picnic had been held. As usual it was chock a block full of peopled dressed in a wide range of costumes. There were the classics, like Frankenstein, Wolf Man, a Mummy, then a few interesting ones like Ex-Wives (dead brides), a chest busted person, and even a headless horseman.

Once again Bernard found himself dragged to a gathering he wanted little to nothing to do with. He sat at a table wearing a white lab coat that was splattered with 'blood'. Even some had gotten on his face as well as his hair, while stained red gloves covered his hands. He took a long sip of a drink he held in his hot little hand and wondered why it was taking Steve so long to get back from the bar.

Steve, dressed as a Blackula, was at the bar trying to squeeze between the bar lurkers. His outfit looked very high class with a ruffled neck, high arched collar and long flowing cape. He even had costume teeth in, the really fancy kind you normally see only on movies, and looked quite the part with dark eye shadow on his eyes and pointed red prick points below his bottom lip where his fangs would leave nicks.

"Who the heck're you?" asked one guy who was dressed as a poorly made Frankenstein.

"Dracula, and I want my bloody Mary bloody now." Steve replied with a grin.

The guy raised his eyebrow before seemingly recognizing him. "Ohhhh you're that guy, what's your name..."

"Yeah I'm that guy." smirked Steve as the bar tender started making his drink.

"He's the fag datin' Bernard." interjected a man dressed as a dead cowboy (shown since he had an arrow through his head).

"How eloquent." Steve said with a dry quip that would have impressed Bernard.

"What, s'true." the guy said. "Tell me, that guy's such a dead weight. Whaddya see in him? Is he that great in bed to put up with him?"

Steve took his drink, thanked the bar tender, before turning to glare at the second man. "What I see in Bernard is none of your business. Now piss off before I throw my drink in your face, ruin your costume, then have to bother the poor bar tender to make me another one." he said, voice teetering on sickeningly sweet and threatening.

The cowboy gave him the old stink eye but stepped away and Steve swished his cape purposely at the man as he strutted past. Soon he was back by Bernard's side, sitting down grumpily and folded his arms.

"Uh oh. Blackula's in a bad mood." Bernard said, arching an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Oh you know. Guys not minding their own business and asking what I see in the man in my life." Steve replied with a huff.

"What do you see in him?" asked Bernard playfully, tilting his head.

"Many things." smiled Steve before he leaned against his boyfriend, resting his head on his shoulders. "He's got the quickest wit I've ever seen. He's not afraid to voice how he feels or what he's thinking. His laugh is beautiful though he doesn't do it nearly enough. Got a cute button nose that I just want to poke every time I see him. He makes me laugh too, which is a big bonus. And his body, my god, you haven't seen such a luscious thing in your life. Even if his butt is as white as snow."

Bernard blinked a few times before giving a low chuckle and judged at Steve. "Sounds like quite the catch."

"Oh he is." Steve purred before sitting up suddenly. "They're here!"

Indeed 'they' were. Some people even made way as a group of three people... wait. Four people. No, that wasn't right. First one they saw was Minion, towering and tall as ever. His robot gorilla suit was fairly different in appearance, now it was thin rather than wide, and the fur travelled up the back of his domed head to give an appearance of actually having a head. A bandolier strung over his shoulder and he was carrying a black cross bow gun. He glanced around, grinning widely as Roxanne caught up to him.

She looked gorgeous in all white, the gown flimsy but just figure hugging enough to remind all the men of her curves. Upon her head were those classic cinnamon bun style, no doubt a prop since no way was her hair long enough to pull this off normally. She too held a blaster gun, one with a long cannon on it. She turned and waited, as did Minion, for Megamind to catch up.

There he was, in his Han Solo costume. There were those pants, the white shirt, black vest, and the blaster gun on his hip. He had even gone to the sake of buying a few wigs and adjusting them so he could actually have the dark brown hair upon his head. And not only that, but he had shaved off his goatee entirely, leaving his chin smooth and hairless.

"He looks so weird with hair." Steve commented. "...and without his goatee."

"Doesn't he just?" Bernard asked as he stood up and waved, calling them over to their table. For the past half hour Bernard had been (sometimes literally) growling away at people who approached and tried to take the table from him.

"Hey guys! Wow, look at you!" Roxanne laughed, pausing to take a good long look at the blood splattered Bernard and vampire Steve. "What are you, Bernard?"

"Just a crazed doctor who went postal and chopped all his patients up. You know. The usual." Bernard shrugged before holding up a bone saw prop which was as bloody as he was, with a fake stump still attached to it.

"Wow. That's a lot of effort from you." she blinked.

"Effort? This is nothing, look at you three!" Steve gushed, getting to his feet and going over, touching Minion's fur. "This is great, where did you guys get them?"

"Minion made them." Megamind said as he pulled out a chair for Roxanne. "He's quite the seamstress fish."

"No way." the dark skinned man said, looking at the fish with wide eyes. "You made these, how long did it take?"

"Oh well, Sirs was easily enough to do. Only a few days. Mine took a month, what with Sir having to make me a new body in which could manage carrying all this fur and insulation material. Miss Ritchi's took me a few days too. Nice isn't it?" he asked, grinning at Roxanne as she sat.

"She looks gorgeous. I know if I was a man in black I'd want to kidnap her." Steve grinned.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "No thanks."

And so the group sat, and surprisingly enough a few people came up and asked for photos to be taken of the Star Wars themed costumes, and Roxanne was surprised to see how readily Megamind and Minion leapt to their feet and posed for photographs. It took some coaxing from her but soon she was posing along with them, or with another person from the company. Surprisingly, for her, a fair few men asked for photos with only her, or of her.

Megamind didn't seem to like this but he grinned and bared it.

"It's no surprise really." Steve said as he sipped his bloody Mary. "A lot of men, as little boys, found Princess Leia very attractive. If you think this is bad, you should have worn the slave bikini! They wouldn't be able to keep off of you."

"Ew!" Roxanne shuddered. "I'd never wear that!"

"In public." Bernard added with a smirk. "Don't think Megamind hasn't already thought about you two dressing up to make things interesting. ...And judging by how purple his face just went I'm right on the money."

"Oh don't tease him." Steve said, smacking his boyfriends arm.

"But it's my only hobby." whined Bernard.

"Bernard..." Steve warned playfully.

Giving off an over dramatic sigh, Bernard looked away. "Fine." he said.

"Steve I'm so glad to run into you, I been wanting to ask. You're a dancer?" Roxanne asked, leaning forward on the table and propping herself up on her elbows.

"You only just now told her?" Steve scolded at Bernard, who tried to look sheepish but failed. Scoffing, Steve turned back to Roxanne and smiled simply. "Yes. I'm a dancer. I've been dancing my feet off since I could walk."

"Really?" she asked.

"Mmmhmm. While my brothers were into sports, there I was listening to my grandmother's old music and dancing away to it. I always loved dancing, my mother jokes that I was quite the kicker in the womb so it was quite possible I was dancing in there too." he grinned, setting his empty glass on the table before reaching for some of the candy that every table had in a small bowl in the centre. "I entered talent shows, won awards, took proper classes... my mother embraced them. My father, not so much. He wanted all his boys to be football players like him, you know." he clenched his fist and grunted. "Big butch men who like throwing pig skins at each other!" he strained the words as if he was passing a coke bottle.

Roxanne frowned slightly. "So do you talk to your father?" she asked.

"Kind of hard to do when he died a year ago." Steve said with a shrug.

"Oh I'm sorry." she said quickly, suddenly feeling very rude for asking such personal questions. It was just a bad habit she had, really.

"No no, it's fine." he replied, reaching and touching her hand with his. "Really."

"And you call me a nosy bitch." Bernard said as he got to his feet, in need of another drink, and headed off to get one.

"Well! Look at you two." Steve said, changing focus from himself to Roxanne and Minion. "You look so adorable together."

"I've never been called adorable by a man before." Megamind mumbled, realizing how he hadn't really spoken with Steve before, but he seemed like a decent enough guy.

"Get used to it, tiny butt." Steve replied with a grin, which made Megamind flush a brilliant purple. "That too."

"He's very affectionate. Bernard's polar opposite, really." Roxanne smiled at her boyfriend, before looking back to Steve. "Right?"

"Opposites attract, what can I say." he shrugged.

"Quick, please. Tell me, just how did you end up with him?" she asked, leaning closer against the table. "I know he's a decent guy and all but what attracted you to him in the first place?"

Steve smirked at her, before shrugging innocently. "To be totally honest he hit on me first. He was so cute too, he had even gone so far as to wait outside-"

"Stop the cutesy flash back please." Bernard said as he had just returned to the table, and in the distance you could hear someone swearing about a drink to their face, and their friends telling him to calm the Hell down. "I'm not one for sharing stories."

"You're not one for much." Megamind said. How could anyone fall in love with somebody so... well. Like Bernard? But it was rude to ask such a thing. Love just happens, that much was painfully obvious just by looking at the woman sitting next to him in the gorgeous Princess Leia dress.

"I have a low tolerance for fun." shrugged Bernard. "Too much fun and I'll explode."

"I've seen it happen." Steve said with an earnest nod.

"I like you." Minion suddenly announced, grinning fit to burst from within his bowl. "You're fun."

"That is the best compliment a fish has ever given me." Steve smiled brilliantly.

"It's the only compliment a fish has ever given you." Bernard pointed out, to which Steve smacked his arm.

"Thus making it even more important than usual!" Steve announced.

And so the night continued, with the group getting to know one another more then they did before hand. Each learned a fair amount about the other, and it wasn't long until Minion was explaining his sewing techniques to Steve who seemed very interested in them. There was even talk of offering Minion a side job of possibly designing and making costumes for the company he worked for, since if there was obvious talent in that fishes' fingers then why should they be one to ignore it? Bernard and Megamind, who had long since been thorns in one another's sides didn't exactly make amends for their years of annoying each other but they did their best to be sociable.

Soon it was time for the dancing to begin, and Roxanne laughed as she watched Steve practically drag Bernard out of his seat and onto the dance floor so they could dance together. Turning she gave Megamind a pointed look, and he flushed slightly.

"I don't really..." he started.

"Oh shush. I've seen you dance on stage when you play Rock Band and Guitar Hero, and even with karaoke. You can dance brilliantly. Now get up out of your chair!" she said, grabbing his wrists and tugged.

"Noooo, Minion help!" Megamind cried, but Minion gave him a helpful push forward. "No you traitor!"

"Go on Sir! Shake what your Momma gave you!" he grinned toothily.

"Traitor!" Megamind called out as Roxanne dragged him out onto the dance floor.

There was a group of people dancing together as one, couples dancing with each other, or the type who danced by themselves but ended up gravitating towards one of the larger groups. Roxanne laughed as she saw Steve somehow manage to wrangle Bernard into doing something that looked like a dance, and the bespectacled man looked all kinds of awkward as he 'danced' with his boyfriend.

"I never would have guessed Bernard had someone in his life." Megamind said as he attempted to move with Roxanne, though it was obvious he was a little intimidated by everyone around him.

"He comes across as an unenthusiastic bump on a log but Bernard's a great guy." Roxanne said as she danced along with him.

"Wouldn't go that far." Megamind smirked, to which she replied with a playful slap to his behind, making him yelp.

"That's my friend you're bitching about boy." she grinned.

"Sorry!" he laughed.

And so they sang, and drank, long into the night and Minion ended up being the designated driver and drove them all home to their apartment. Just how he managed to half walk, carry, and drag the four people up the nine flights of stairs was a mystery to all involved. Bernard was only vaguely aware when he was set down on a couch he wasn't familiar with. Steve was soon besides him, and the shape of a robot gorilla lumbered away, helping the woman and blue alien to another room.

"...is this... Megs' place...?" Steve asked, glancing around in the pitch darkness, trying to see.

"I don't know." Bernard muttered as he slid his glasses off and felt for a table, and finding the coffee table he set them down on them. He slumped against Steve suddenly, arms wrapping around his upper back and pulled him in. "Don't care."

Steve gave a low chuckle as his own arms worked around Bernard, though it was difficult since his cape seemed to want to come between them. He struggled for a second, "Wait, wait.." he mumbled as he tugged at the cape, trying to untie it but found this incredibly difficult to do since Bernard's mouth had found his neck and was now sucking fiercely at it in the darkness.

"Hon, wait, wait..." he gasped before he slipped backwards and ended up on the couch on his back, Bernard well and truly on top of him. He gave a pleased noise as he felt Bernard's weight pressing down against him, and gave a pleased little sound before his mouth was smothered by that of his boyfriends'. The plastic of Bernard's gloved hands felt coarse against his clothing but he wasn't in the right state of mind to really complain, especially as the other mans hands felt their way down his hips, and fumbled against the buckle on his pants.

Bernard moaned into his mouth hungrily, before moving to suck on his partners bottom lip as if he was sucking on an ice pop. Did it matter to him that they were currently on somebody else's couch, in their apartment? No, it didn't matter at all to him. What mattered was the amazingly sexy man beneath him and the fact that they were wearing FAR too many clothes than he cared to bother with. His nails dug desperately at the black slacks that Steve wore, and he pinned his knees against the other mans sides as his drunk fingers fumbled with the zipper.

All while refusing to remove his mouth from his.

"Oh God.. Bernard..." Steve moaned once his mouth was freed, and his nails dug desperately into Bernard's back, before he desperately began to push at the white lab coat Bernard was wearing, trying to undo the buttons in the dark. A fair few of them ended snapping, flying off and tumbling into the darkness of the room but their location was of no matter to either man upon the couch.

Steve's whole body shivered as he felt the warm night air smother his exposed skin as Bernard finally managed to undo not only the zip, but successfully tug his pants down but only after the white lab coat had been partially shoved, or tugged, off of his arms and now lay forgotten at the small of his back. The dark skinned man moaned at a certain touch before Bernard's mouth reunited with his own, and both fell into pleased, deep, lustful sounds that luckily didn't travel too far into the apartment.

"Oh it's so good to be back in my own body." Minion sighed as he just finished transferring his head onto his proper robot gorilla body. No matter how fond he was of his Chewbacca body it was just too tall for his liking, and gangly. He liked the stocky build of his original suit, one he had been using to get around since he was a young guppy. The fish went to his door and was just about to open it when he seemed to pick up on some sounds that were probably better left to ones imagination.

Being unable to blush, the fish shivered, before shutting the door. "Well. I am kind of tired more then I am hungry." he told himself, trying to reassure the grumbling that was his belly. All his fish food was in the kitchen, and if he were to go there he would have to walk very close to the couch and judging by what he heard neither Bernard or Steve would appreciate him walking past them to get some food. Sighing, Minion turned the lights off in his room and put himself to bed.

"That... that was so much fun," Megamind mumbled as he lay curled against his princess, though both of them had taken off most of their clothing by now. Roxanne was only in her bra and underwear, while Megamind was in his boxers and a sleeveless undershirt.

"Mmm. I knew it'd be great." she smiled, nosing gently against his chin. "I'm surprised you went so far to shave off your goatee to be Han..." Roxanne felt at his chin with her nose, missing the ticklish fuzz that normally awaited her there.

"Give me a week. It'll be back." he chuckled, pecking at her nose then her forehead as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, tugging her in closer. Snuggling in the dark was something he had grown very accustomed to, and while the two of them still hadn't made that giant leap forward with seeing the other totally without clothing or, especially, sex it was still a very sensual moment for him. To feel her warm skin flush against his own like this.

Roxanne smiled before sighing, and rubbed at her forehead. "It's warm tonight." she mumbled.

"Want me to open the window?" Megamind asked.

"Could you?" she asked, batting her eyelids despite being in almost total darkness so he probably couldn't see them.

"For you my princess, anything." he replied before giving her a soft kiss, and climbed out of the bed. Roxanne rolled onto her side and watched as he made his way through to the window and tugged it open, the blinds first and then the window itself. Light began to steam into the room from the city outside, as did a nice breeze that helped circulate the room.

Sitting up on the bed now, Roxanne stretched her back, then groaned.

"What is it?" Megamind asked, turning to peer at her in the half-light.

"My bra. It's cutting into me." she muttered, and fingered the under wire of the bra where it was poking at her.

Megamind made an 'oh' face, and stood there awkwardly, hand still on the window. "Uh. If..."

Roxanne arched an eyebrow at him, having a sneaking suspicion of what he was about to offer, but waited for him to ask it rather then offer it herself. If he was that comfortable with her, and himself, now to see her without a bra for the first time who was she to deny him?

Or guide him, for that matter. He was the one who had to ask her.

"You... you could take it off, if it was really bothering you?" he asked. "I mean I'd hate for you to suffer while your slept and wake up with a sore under... uh... boob?" he wasn't even sure what you refer to the soft skin that was underneath a woman's chest. He made a mental note to check the internet at a later date.

"Really?" she smiled sweetly. "Thank you..." Megamind inched forward as she bent forward gently, and her hands vanished behind her back and unhooked the tiny hooks that kept her bra in place. Once that was done she allowed one shoulder strap to fall free, then the other, but stopped when she saw him watching her from the end of the bed. "This a peep show, boy?" she asked.

"Oh! Sorry!" Megamind made a move to turn away but she reached out, and snagged his arm.

"I was joking!" she grinned in the half-light. "Remember what I told you?"

"I do." he replied, flustered. So he joined her on the bed as she slipped the bra off, and folded it before placing it on the floor.

"Oh God that's so much better." Roxanne groaned as she rubbed at her poor breasts, which had taken a beating since her white bra was very new and had decided to cut into her shoulders and skin more so than she would have thought. "Thank you."

"Mffghhshhnnffhh." Megamind said smartly, currently incapable of making a well-structured sentence out of words and good grammar. While he had seen topless women in movies, and on the internet, experiencing it in real life was something quite different.

She couldn't help but laugh at his expression, and she slowly leaned back and supported her upper back with her elbows and peered up at him. "You like?" she asked playfully.

"Oh yes." Megamind whispered, his hands still firmly in his lap.

"Hmm. I like this..." Roxanne reached, gently took hold of one of his hands and placed it over her right breast. His skin was warm and soft as always, and she heard him give off a short gasp as she touched his hand to her chest. She couldn't help it, the alcohol in her system was making her feel very warm and pleased. This only made it feel better. Unlike the boys outside on the couch, she seemed capable of holding her drink better then the rest.

Megamind, meanwhile, had barely drank at all. Turns out he couldn't hold alcohol at all, because of his slim frame and body weight. He had drank a few things but finished the rest of the night off with water, meaning he was fairly awake. Which, at this moment, he was very grateful for. Gently he began to caress the breast in his hand, and she responded positively by tilting her head back and moaning softly. "Hnnn, Mega... Megamind..."

"Yes?" he asked as he began to lay against her, his hand continuing to play with her breast before moving to pinch her hardening nipple with his thumb and forefinger.

"Nhh!" she hissed in a pleased manner, one of her hands finding his ear and gently caressed it with her fingertips. "Ohh..." Roxanne shivered.

"Nothing?" Megamind asked coyly, before gently resting his cheek against her shoulder as he continued to gently touch her, pinching now and then to just take in her reactions. It seemed as though Roxanne quite enjoyed it when he touched her here, and he had learned quickly that it was a-ok to do this with her. But up until tonight it normally happened whilst she was wearing a bra and a top, or sometimes just a top. He found it now much easier, without any clothing separating them.

"Megamind..." she started breathily, eyes slipping shut. "Use your mouth..."

"M.. my mouth...?" he asked, but before he could ask any further questions both of her arms wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him so he was suddenly atop of her, his face buried in her cleavage. Megamind stayed there for a moment, one hand still gripping one of her breasts, while his mind raced. What Roxanne wanted, Roxanne got, especially if it involved him doing something. But this? Could he? She wanted him to. He could almost smell her desire, feel it in the warmth of her body and the way her legs were wrapping around one of his own in that way they did when she was excited.

"...my mouth." Megamind confirmed before gently trailing his lips along her free breast, eliciting an excited gasp from the woman. Finding the hard, excited point in its centre he experimentally touched his tongue against it. She shivered, so he did it again before very carefully taking the nipple into his mouth as told.

"Ohhhh..." Roxanne purred, arching her head back into the pillow. "Oh yes.. yes..." she whispered, moving a hand up to grip the back of his large head. "U-use your teeth, only a little... a little...!" she guided him with her words, and she made sure he knew she liked what he was doing by making very pleased noises. His teeth were warm and hard against her nipple, and she arched when he tugged gently just to excite but never to hurt. Meanwhile his other hand continued to pinch and play with the other.

Then he began to suck, and Roxanne lost all coherent thought. Her mouth fell open on a hungry moan, and she wanted to feel him. She desperately wanted him inside her, his body merging with her own and filling her in a way he hadn't done before. Roxanne's whole body seemed to shiver and her legs tightened around one of his own but then he did something that truly drew a gasp of both shock and pleasure from her mouth.

His free hand, the one that had been gripping at her beautiful hip, had suddenly moved south. In a daring move that unbeknownst to her, had taken her boyfriend six days of thinking and contemplating over to do, introduced the base of her panties with three of his fingers. Megamind winched as he felt how wet she was, but it wasn't a cold wet, it was a familiar warm wet that he had felt against his pant leg a good week ago. Since then he had felt it against his bared legs, and he could certainly smell it with his hypersensitive nose.

That website had informed him of enough, to explore, touch, prod and even maybe pinch if he was daring enough but that was normally best left for when there wasn't any underwear in the way. Tonight her panties were in the way, and he wasn't brave enough yet to tug them out of the way. Instead he touched her through the thin material that felt even thinner than normal due to her excitement.

"Oh God, oh GOD! Megamind!" she breathed his name more than spoke it as she felt his fingers press against her body in ways he certainly hadn't done before. She wasn't going to try to stop him, to curb his enthusiasm, this was beautiful. It was amazing, to feel both his lips and his fingers touching her like this. Her hips bucked eagerly suddenly, desperately needing to feel more of his fingers and felt cheated that they wouldn't.

Megamind rubbed his tongue tip against her nipple before pulling his head back, causing her to whine at the loss of his mouth but she soon felt it return to her other breast. How sweet, he didn't want the other to feel left out. Her hand dug desperately against the back of his head, and also to his lower back. Roxanne dug her heels against the bed as her hips bucked again as his fingers explored more through the thin wet panties that she wished she could kick away. Her body was beginning to tingle with breaching excitement, and she couldn't mute her pleasure.

Her hand found his rear and she gripped at him and tugged him closer as her hips bucked again, moving faster and faster against his fingers. What he was doing to her, she never would have thought she'd feel by his hands. If she were to think back to when she first saw this bespectacled, blue man sitting in his cubicle and giving her the stink eye... if she had been told, back then, that in a few months time she would be withering under his touch on his bed surrounded by all manner of nerdy things, she would have called that person an idiot and kicked them somewhere painful.

Yet here she was, grinding, bucking, gripping and moaning his name again and again.

What a night to be alive.

~*~

Whatever time it was, Roxanne was suddenly very thirsty. Over her was a bed sheet that probably had something nerdy associated with it, and wrapped against her was her beautiful blue boyfriend who had truly amazed her this past night. The way he had touched her, it had been magic. Where had all this come from? She would have to ask him in the morning.

Smacking her lips she sat up in the bed, and carefully untangled her limbs from Megamind's and got to her feet. Standing there in just her slightly soggy underwear, the woman scratched the back of her hair, which was sticking up in all directions. She fumbled at first, not wanting to break something expensive, and found the doorknob. Tugging it open she found the hall light switch and walked down it to reach the kitchen.

What she saw on the couch didn't register at first, since she was still half asleep. She walked past the living area and approached the kitchen and pulled the fridge door open and found an opened bottle of juice. Retrieving it she unscrewed the lid and drank from the bottle, orange juice dribbling down her chin, neck and chest. Just then her brain woke up.

"There are naked men on the couch." it informed her, "And you are topless. Think of your decency!"

Roxanne almost threw up the juice she was drinking, practically choked, re-screwed the lid on the juice and slammed it back into the fridge and shut the door quickly. Her hands lifted an covered her exposed chest and stared at the couch.

Bernard was on top of Steve, his face partly buried into the other mans shoulders. Their legs were locked, and one of their hands had entwined fingers. Thinking she had a chance to sneak past them to get to the light and turn it off before she was seen, she hurried past them but that hope was dashed when she spotted something that made her both squeak in surprise but also a little joy. "Oh my God," she blurted.

"Nnghh?" Bernard blinked his eyes open and lifted his head, hair well and truly a mess, and blinked at the blurry image that was just out of sight.

"Steve was right," Roxanne whispered in the dark, "Your butt really is white as snow."

"Ghhfnnfgoaway..." he grumbled as he lowered himself back down against Steve and shut his eyes. Seconds later they were open again, and he properly looked at the pale pink blob which he could only guess was Roxanne. Judging by the lack of colors on her, he knew what was going on. Before she could react he found his glasses and put them on, and stared at her. "Huh. You're one to talk, snow peak tits." Bernard commented.

"Gah!" Roxanne squealed and rushed back to Megamind's room, slamming the door in her wake but not before turning the light back off.

"Mmfhh?" Steve mumbled, still half asleep.

"S'nothin." Bernard replied before taking his glasses off, snuggled in close to his boyfriend but not before tugging the blanket which had been pushed off of the couch onto both of them to keep them extra warm. "Go back to sleep."

"Hhnnnn..." was all what Steve said before sleep embraced him again, and the world went dark.


	19. Chapter 19

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, why are we going to this thing?" Bernard asked as he fumbled with a tie that he was trying to set properly around his neck.

"Because Megamind is an angel and he needs our moral support now stop bitching." Steve replied as he tied his black shoes before standing up and looking over himself in the mirror besides Bernard. "It can't easy having to go to court and speak for yourself, about being hit by a man who claims to be human while it's obvious he's an alien."

"I still can't see it." Bernard mumbled as he tried again with his tie before making an aggravated noise and yanked it off and threw it to the floor. "Have I told you how much I loathe ties?"

"All the time." Steve sighed as he knelt and picked up the tie, "Face me come on." and so he began fixing his boyfriends tie. "I don't know why you have such issues with these things."

Bernard said nothing as Steve fixed his tie. Once it was properly done Steve stood back, and smiled. "My God you're handsome. Do you know that?"

"Takes one to know one." Bernard replied as he looked at himself, then frowned. His hair, normally wavy and wild was combed back and it made him look ten years older then he really was. "...I look like my father."

"Ew." Steve made a face, before giving the man a hug and looked at themselves in the mirror. "Well, despite your similar appearance to that jerk you still look dashing. Now come on, let's go and be photographed and filmed by the media while we attend the court hearing!" he grinned, grabbing his shoulder bag and all but dragging Bernard out of their apartment.

The court house of Metro City was a tall, intimidating building with a Greek influence, large pillars, sweeping door arches and windows gave off a strong feeling of law and if you were walking into that place you were in for a world of trouble. Gathered on the front steps were people from the media carrying cameras, microphones, hand held cassette recorders, and other such things. News vans lined the street and it looked like every news station in the city had turned out for the day of hearing.

Wayne Scott, accompanied by only a middle aged lawyer, was the first to arrive on the scene. He was thus bombarded with flashes of white light as photographs were taken, and the man held up his hand to shield his eyes despite them being hidden behind some sunglasses.

"Mr. Scott are you an alien?"

"Mr. Scott what are your feelings towards your accuser?"

"Do you know them?"

"How do you keep your hair so luxuriously shiny?"

All manner of questions leaped at him, but he pushed through the people easily enough as he trailed after the lawyer and the large doors slammed behind them, banishing the media to hanging outside again.

"Aw man."

"I got a good photo!"

"Did he look shaggier then usual?"

"Of course he didn't shave!"

Meanwhile, around the corner, a black car was parked. Minion, at the wheel, had watched the media's reaction to Wayne and groaned. Sitting besides him in the front was Steve, and in the back was Roxanne, Megamind, and Bernard (in that order). The fish turned himself in his dome so he was looking at his friend. "Are you ready, Sir?" he asked.

"No." Megamind replied honestly, looking so out of place in a black pinstripe suit and white shirt combination. "I am not."

"Look all you have to do is take the stand, tell them what happened, and walk off. That's all." Roxanne said, holding his hand firmly in hers.

"But first they'll cross examine you." Bernard said dryly, "They'll ask you why you weren't working. What would have started Wayne talking to you in the first place? Then they'll bring up your relationship to Roxanne, and no doubt also mention your criminal history. You know. Lawyer stuff."

Megamind paled and his skin turned from its natural, healthy blue to a sickly blue you normally saw on people's lips when they were suffering from hypothermia.

"Bernard!" Roxanne hissed.

"What? It's no point sugar coating it. They're going to tear you apart." Bernard shrugged.

"Not so long as I'm alive." Minion growled, turning to look back at the court house. "All right. They've reserved a park for us at the front, you stay in the car Sir. I'll get out first, give them something to _really_ photograph before letting the rest of you out."

"It's almost like being a super star." Steve mumbled as he watched some reporters talking into their camera lens, and it made him wonder if some were airing live or not. Minion swallowed and slowly made his way around the corner in the car and groaned as some of the cameras turned their attention to the approaching black car. Mouths moving to the cameras most reporters began walking towards the space where the car was set to park.

It was like being assaulted by faerie lights continually flashing you. Steve held a hand up, and Megamind ducked his head down as best he could.

Minion unbuckled his seat belt, opened the drivers side and got out of the car. More than 90% of those gathered took a sudden, surprised step back at the appearance of a robot gorilla with a fish for a head. Even the cameras stopped taking photos for a brief second before they started up again. The fish made his way around the car, saying nothing as microphones were pushed to his dome.

"Who are you?"

"What are you?"

"Are you an abomination of science?"

"Can you feel your robot suit?"

"Back up, back up!" Minion suddenly snapped, which, most of them obeyed. As he opened the back seat door Bernard climbed out from the front passenger side and folded his arms as he waited. Bernard was out first and some microphones almost smacked him in the face.

"Are you the accuser?"

"What is your beef with Wayne Scott?"

"Please hold all questions until the end of the tour." Bernard said into some microphones before moving to Steve, glaring at those who dared follow him.

"I can't do this." Megamind said from within the car, backing up so he was practically in Roxanne's lap. "I can't."

"Yes you can." Roxanne replied sternly, but still in an understanding tone. "I know you're scared but this has to be done. You can't run away from his, and remember? We're going bike riding after, your first time! You were so looking forward to that." she said.

Megamind said nothing, but then Minion leaned down and held out his hand to his friend. "Come on Sir. We're waiting for you."

The alien sat there, shaking still, but finally, slowly reached out and placed his hand in the metal one of his fish. Gently the fish led him out and once Megamind emerged from the car he saw nothing but white flashing dots. He knew there were questions being thrown at him but he couldn't answer anything. Roxanne was besides him seconds later, taking his hand and walking with him up the steps followed by Bernard, Steve and Minion taking up the rear and blocking most people's views by his size.

"Why is your head so big?"

"Are you deformed?"

"Is it true you attacked a school building full of children?"

"And helped twenty of the state's most hardened criminals escape prosecution thirty years ago?"

"Is this attack on Wayne Scott an attempt to make yourself feel better about your hideous birth defects?"

"HEY!" Minion growled, and the cameras flashed quicker as he reached out as if to strike the man who just posed this question.

"MINION!" Megamind snapped and the fish froze, fist inches from the mans' face who had staggered back, having not expected the fish to lash out. "Get inside. Now."

With more questions, photographers, and cameras going off in their wake they finally made it into the building and the doors shut behind them.

"Minion you shouldn't have done that." Roxanne said quietly. "I know the media can be intrusive but you must never let them get to you, it'll reflect badly on Megamind. You don't want that do you?"

"No..." Minion replied, "But... but he said you had..."

"I know what they said." Megamind said going to his friend and grabbed at his furry forearm. "Ignore them. They're beneath us."

They finally turned and saw what awaited them. There was a metal detector and Megamind paled, before looking at Minion. His whole body was metallic, what if they refused to let him in? Already Steve and Bernard had gone through, and Roxanne slipped through easily enough. Megamind, being eyed by a fair number of guards, hurried through.

Minion stood there, staring at the detector. He looked at a guard. "You're kidding right?"

"Sorry bub." said the guard, "Can't let you though."

"Why?" Megamind asked, the idea of facing this without Minion there in the court room suddenly making the whole thing a million times worse. "Why not?"

"He could be concealing a weapon. Or _be_ a weapon." said another guard, looking at Minion's back and observing all the whirring parts of his filtering system. "Lookit all this stuff."

"W-what if he was just in a bowl of water?" Megamind asked.

"Then what's that thing?" the guard asked, jabbing a finger to the back of Minion's head where a small metal antenna was stuck.

"That helps me understand him and his body is designed so it's received in the same structural microchips and-" Megamind stopped when the guard held a hand in front of him.

"Can it be taken off?" he asked.

"It's attached to his brain. It can't." Megamind replied feebly.

"Then no. Fish has to wait out here." the guard said.

"NO!" Megamind shouted, startling Roxanne. "No he has to come!"

"You wanna start trouble blue boy?" the guard asked, eyes narrowing and hand going to his baton.

"No, no he doesn't!" Roxanne said, grabbing Megamind and pulled him to her protectively while Minion glared angrily at the guard, fists ready. If that guard even pulled that baton out it'd be ripped out of his hands and used against him before he knew what happened. "Megamind, he can't come in. It's the law, and we have to obey that law even if it seems stupid."

"But... but.." Megamind started, but stopped himself. He looked to Minion, who was still glaring at the guard, then back to Roxanne. Being brave was something that Megamind hadn't normally been associated with, but he had been making his small baby steps over the past few weeks, he was getting better. The idea of facing something so striking without his best friend though still scared him but he knew he had to push through it.

"It'll be all right, Sir." Minion said, finally looking to the blue alien. "I'll be waiting out here."

Megamind nodded slowly, before Roxanne led him down the hallway to where the court room waited. They could hear the shuffling of feet and people talking long before they reached the large wooden doors. Steve sighed, and smoothed out his tie before doing the same to Bernard.

"No fear, Megamind." Roxanne whispered. "Don't show them."

He nodded and the doors were pulled open. Megamind walked besides Roxanne, in front of Bernard and Steve, and they walked as a group into the fairly crowded court room. Just who all these people were Megamind didn't know, nor did he care. All he wanted was to go up there, plead his case, and then move on with his life. He spotted Wayne, who looked tired and strained. He hadn't shaved recently; his beard was brown with flecks of grey, showing his rapid aging over the past few weeks.

Megamind never wanted all this. Wayne had offered to pay for the medical expenses, but the Warden, on his authority as Megamind's surrogate father had pushed for a court hearing. If Wayne truly was an alien he would have to admit to it whilst under oath, or have evidence there of come up. That would show if he truly was a threat to society since if one punch from him could shatter a man's nose and break his jaw, along the other injuries, then they had to take that into serious consideration. Justice had to be served, truths revealed.

The court hearing began but Megamind wasn't really here, at least mentally. He barely listened to what those loud lawyers were saying, or what was going on around him. All he was are of was Roxanne's hand holding his own, resting gently on her leg. God, she looked beautiful today. She was wearing a lovely red dress that had a black belt under her chest that stretched to her waist, and it had a tasteful neck line which got ones attention but it didn't mean her body was out on full display like some women would. He gave her a small smile when he noticed she was looking at him, expression one of concern.

"Your honor we ask to call Jude Percival John Doe to the stand please."

Those words sucked all the air out of Megamind and he sat in his seat, rooted to the spot. It took Roxanne and Steve prodding at him to finally move him. Getting to his feet, Megamind made his way up to the box besides the Judge's large bench. Stepping up the small steps he stood there, and began to sit but stopped when another man approached him holding a black book.

"Place your hand here." he said. Megamind did. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and only truth so help you God?" he asked.

"Yes." Megamind replied, despite not believing in the deity. Finally he was allowed to sit, and he did, and learned the seat was very uncomfortable and warm. He fidgeted.

"Mr Doe," a lawyer stood and walked towards him.

"Megamind." he said.

"Excuse me?" the man asked.

"P... people call me Megamind..." he said.

"...Mr Doe," the man continued, "Could you explain to us the events concerning the date in question, August the 5th?"

Megamind decided he didn't like this man very much. But he started. "Well. I was home, and-"

"Why were you home?" asked the man. "Why weren't you at work like you normally are?" he walked to a table and lifted some papers. "According to these you've never taken a sick day in all your eleven years working for Metro Cover."

"I..." Megamind started, and swallowed. "I just... I couldn't go in."

"Why? Were you sick?" the man asked.

"Sick in my heart." replied the alien.

"Pray tell us why?" the lawyer asked.

Sighing, Megamind looked at the black microphone he was speaking into. "For the past few weeks, Roxanne Ritchi had been becoming my friend. I normally don't make friends too easily so it was kind of a big deal for me. She didn't know I felt strongly towards here and when I admitted to this the night before she informed me that she was to go out with Wayne Scott."

"So you took the day off." the lawyer stated the obvious. "Because the woman you wanted wasn't interested in you."

"...yes..." Megamind whispered.

"Could you repeat that?" the lawyer asked.

"Yes." he said louder, into the microphone.

Roxanne, sitting besides Steve, groaned. So they were going to drag this out, weren't they? Bernard had warned her, and she should know since his father had been a lawyer and he knew some about the justice system.

"I hate that man." Steve muttered.

"So explain to us, what you were doing on Grundle Street at around 12:20 in the afternoon." the lawyer continued, beginning to pace in the space available.

"Well. I felt I needed some air, to help clear my head." Megamind said, "So I went for a walk. That's when Wayne showed up."

"And what did he say? What mood was he in?" the lawyer asked.

"He said we needed to talk." Megamind replied.

"Of?" probed the lawyer.

"Roxanne." answered the alien, and rubbed at his forearm. "He said that she'd broken it off with him that morning. That... that she told him she had made the wrong choice, and that she liked me."

"Is this Roxanne here with you today?" asked the man, who no doubt knew the answer to this question already.

"Yes." Megamind replied and when told to point her out, he did. Roxanne frowned at the lawyer and those who turned to stare at her.

"So because this woman decided she had made the wrong decision, Wayne Scott approached you, obviously mad over the situation. What happened then?" the lawyer asked.

"He grabbed my arm. He asked why she'd want me over him." Megamind admitted.

"Did you try to pull away? Get away from him? Call for help?" the man asked, stopping in front of Megamind from his pacing.

"No."

"Why?"

"I knew it was fruitless." Megamind replied. Before the man could ask that stupid question again he continued. "I knew because Wayne was stronger than me. Not just because of our physical differences, but he really is stronger than anyone else alive on this planet because he's an alien like me."

This caused chatter amongst those gathered, and the judge had to bang her gravel to silence them all. "Order in the court!" she shouted.

"An alien like you. That's a fairly strong accusation Mr. Doe." the lawyer said.

"It is because it's true." Megamind cut in.

"And how do you know this?" asked the man.

"Because I met him on the day I left my planet. Our planets," he leaned closer to the microphone, looking to the Jury of twelve people. "They were being sucked into a black hole. Both our parents used their last resources to send us into space. Wayne travelled along side mine for two weeks before we arrived on this planet. He landed in the Scott Manor and I..." Megamind trailed off, eyes darting to Roxanne then back to the jurors.

"Where did you land?" the lawyer asked.

"Metro... Metro City State Prison for the Criminally Gifted." Megamind mumbled.

"We refer to exhibit H, a copy of the newspaper on the day after this landing stating a baby breaking twenty of the prisons criminals' out." the lawyer went so far as to pick up the newspaper, concealed in a plastic bag. "Now, seeing how no foster home, church, orphanage or adoption agency would touch you, you were kept on in the prison is that correct?"

"Yes, but I don't see what this has to do with-" Megamind started but was hushed.

"You met Wayne Scott again, but well before Metro Cover. Where?" asked the man.

"...Lil' Gifted School for Gifted Kids." Megamind admitted.

"The school you bombed, correct?" the lawyer said a little too quickly.

"It wasn't a bomb it was a paint bomb!" Megamind shouted as the crowds began to chatter again. "I didn't do it to hurt anyone! I never did anything to hurt anyone!"

"Your second day in the school you started a fire. True or false?" snapped the lawyer.

"It was an accident I wanted to make pop corn like Wayne did!"

"Property damage, two smashed windows." the lawyer continued, "Running away from the school. Stealing supplies. You had quite the record and you weren't even ten years old yet. What led to all of this, all this hostility?"

"They never accepted me! None of them did!" Megamind snapped angrily, voice shaking. "I was the outcast! The black sheep! Last picked for everything! Wayne was the one in charge of them all, he was the one to pull me into 'line' and send me to the time out corner! Every day they found new ways to exclude me and I finally had enough! So I got the chemicals and paints and made the paint bomb! Just so I could make them all blue like me so I wouldn't be the only one anymore!"

"And then?" the lawyer asked.

"And then I was suspended! I wasn't allowed within a school again until I was fourteen and on parole." Megamind growled, hands now formed into fists on the arm supports on that uncomfortable chair. "I paid for my crimes! I got better! I've never done anything bad since then!"

"Until now." the lawyer replied simply. "Here you are, criminal record well and truly estimated before you even struck puberty. Problems holding a job. And now you accuse Wayne Scott of causing you grievous bodily harm as well as being an alien like yourself. Where is your proof?" he asked, "What physical proof could you have that could-"

"Stop it, stop it!" Wayne, suddenly, had stood up. The man besides him had been trying to keep him seated but it had obviously not worked. "This isn't about him, stop bringing him into this! He's right. He's right!"

"Silence! Silence!" called the judge, slamming her mallet loudly. "Mr. Miles you keep your client under control or we'll sentence him with disrupting a court hearing!"

"I punched him and I'm sorry for that! I didn't mean to hurt him and I forgot my strength, Megamind, Jude, I never meant to hurt you!" the man continued despite the chatter and court room noise. "I should never have hid what I was, but I was so afraid. I didn't want to be shunned like you, I was a coward and hid behind an image of myself that was a lie. You, you're the bravest man I've ever met and you're not even a man!"

"Get him out of here!" the judge ordered and some police came rushing into the room.

"No! This is about me, this is about whether or not I'm an alien! Well _look!_"

Wayne suddenly lifted into the air, and hovered just out of the reach of the police. People all around gasped in shock, and mobile phones were already recording what was happening as well as cameras snapping photographs. The man hovered there, eyes on Megamind, and the two aliens stared at one another amongst the chaos of the humans beneath them.

"...thank you." Megamind mouthed, to which Wayne bowed his head before slowly sinking back down into the crowd.

~*~

"That was the craziest thing I've ever seen." Bernard said, "Can you believe it?"

"You were right." Steve smiled at Megamind, who was sitting between Roxanne and Minion.

"Why is everyone so surprised to hear that?" Megamind asked with a weak, tired smile. "He's been an alien since the day I met him."

"I guess they just couldn't believe it. He looks so much like us." Steve shrugged before sipping his tea. "Guess he showed us."

"You were so brave up there." Roxanne finally said, looking at Megamind. "That lawyer was such an ass, the way he cornered you into admitting your history like that... it was like he was trying to make the people distrust you because of who you are and how you started life here."

"It's what they do all the time." Bernard muttered. "Bring doubt into the equation and Wayne would have walked out free of any charges. They would have seen Megamind as an ex-convict with a score to settle and nothing more, nothing less. I hate the legal system."

"So do I." Minion frowned.

"Well. That's over with now," Roxanne smiled, "And we're all alive, we all made it. Steve, Bernard, thank you so much for coming with us you know you didn't have to."

"S'what I told him." Bernard said, but smiled faintly when Steve snaked an arm around his waist.

"He couldn't pass up the opportunity of seeing his handsome mug on the television and in the newspapers. So darn vain." he grinned, nosing Bernard's cheek gently.

"...can we go bike riding now?" Megamind asked, almost desperately, wanting to get out of his black suit and into something more his style.

Roxanne laughed, and kissed him. "Yes. Yes we can."

~*~

"Wow, you made it?" Roxanne asked, as she observed the helmet that Megamind would be wearing. It was made, by hand, and had all the proper padding needed.

"I had to." Megamind said as he tied his strawberry Chuck Taylors as he sat on the grass of the park. "There's nowhere in the world I can buy a helmet, or hat, that suits my head right off the rack."

"And what's this?" she tapped the little black device on top of it.

"A camera." Megamind said. "I've never ridden a bike before, I wanted to film it."

"Aw!" Roxanne grinned. "Now, Minion should be back with your rented bike soon." since she already owned a bike she had brought it with her. Luckily the city and park offered hiring bikes, you simply had to deposit a few notes and you always got them back when you returned the bike at the end of the day. This way Megamind could ride a bike, but they would have to get one with training wheels since he'd never been on one before. "There he is!"

Sure enough Minion was fast approaching, carrying with him a blue bike with training wheels. "The last one! I was very lucky." he admitted as he set the bike down in front of his friend. "Nice color huh?" he asked.

Megamind scoffed and touched the handle bars, feeling the strength in the metal and rubber. There was even a bell, and he rang it with a childlike grin to his face. After strapping his helmet on Minion helped him onto the bike, and held onto it as Megamind adjusted himself so the seat was at a good height for him. "Do I look good?" he asked.

"Perfectly wonderful, Sir." Minion grinned. "Doesn't he Miss Ritchi?" the fish asked.

"Adorable."

And so the three set off. Minion kept a hand on the back of Megamind's bike, despite the training wheels, which gave the alien somewhat more courage while riding the bike. Roxanne, being a show off, sped around them in circles and laughing before taking off, only to return shortly after. The rest of the afternoon continued, Megamind getting bolder and soon riding without the fish holding on, and laughing as he did.

Minion stood under a tree and watched the two bike riding, Roxanne still (sometimes literally) riding circles around her boyfriend. Megamind called out now and then, just that she was a show off, to which she answered by doing a wheelie. The fish laughed as Megamind was daring enough to try it, and almost ended up falling off his bike but Roxanne caught at him. He got down and sat under the tree now and leaned against it, content to watch his best friend smile and laugh for the first time that day.

The storm had passed, and they'd survived.

Though he had to wonder what lay in store for them now. Roxanne was clearly a wonderful woman, and he had heard of their small argument over Hal from his work mates, and was grateful to see they had gotten through it together. She was just a wonderful fit for his friend, who needed someone like her. Somebody to understand him, guide him, and teach him more of the world which he had been locking away due to his ugly upbringing in prison and the foster homes once he was of age. It was almost like Megamind was a child again, as if his years had slipped away and he was a teenager experiencing all the good things life had to offer instead of the ugly.

Then Megamind tried something truly silly, going down a hill, and ended up falling into the lake in the middle of Metro Park.

"Oh Sir!" Minion ran down the hill as Roxanne, unable to help but laugh, got down into the water with the alien to help him up. "Sir, Sir are you all right?" the fish asked.

Megamind coughed up some water but laughed, hauled to his feet by Roxanne.

"Sir you need to be more careful." Minion scolded.

"Yes mother." Megamind grinned, to which Minion fake gasped and wagged a finger at him.

"Don't take that tone with me, mister Sir." he said.

"Now you see why it's important to remember which handle is the gear shift and the other a brake?" Roxanne asked, her jeans up to her knees now soaked.

"Yes, yes..." Megamind replied with an embarrassed smile.

"Now come on let's get you guys back to _my_ place this time." Roxanne smiled, "We can dry off there. And then you guys can watch some of my favourite movies."

"They aren't anything girly romantic are they?" Megamind asked. "I have an allergy to romantic comedies."

"Oh God no!" Roxanne snorted as they climbed out of the water and Minion took their bikes so they could shake off excess water. "I hate that stuff. No. You, my wonderful blue beau, are going to be introduced to a young man who's been in my life for fourteen years."

"Fourteen _years?_" Megamind asked with eyes wide. "Who, I've never heard you mention anyone like that?"

"A young English gentleman who, for the first half of his life, lived in a cupboard under the stairs of Number 4 Pivet Drive Little Whinging, Surrey." Roxanne grinned. 


	20. Chapter 20

Roxanne sat on her bed, flipping through a movie magazine. She was hoping she'd find something of interest for her and Megamind to go watch together. Over the past two weeks she had introduced him to Harry Potter, and interested in seeing the original work that inspired the films he had borrowed her books and ploughed through them in a matter of days. Then they had gone to see the first half of Deathly Hallows together since it was just now ending its run in the cinemas.

But now they needed something to watch, something new, but she couldn't find anything decent. Huffing, she tossed the magazine away and lay there, before rolling over and rubbed the space on the bed besides her. What with watching the Harry Potter movies over the progression of a week (a movie a night rather then all movies in one day) Megamind had ultimately ended up sleeping in her bed very frequently and on that very spot.

Minion, the understanding friend that he was, normally ended up going down to his and Megamind's apartment to sleep so not to disturb the two in any... physical activities that may, and usually, took place.

"Hm." Roxanne frowned as she thought deeply. Megamind was growing up into being proper boyfriend material with every passing day. While he was obviously still a little shy when they would make out, he _certainly_ knew where to touch her to get her all hot and bothered. Yet all she could do for him, so far, was nibble his ears, collar bone and touch the sensitive skin below his waist but he always kept his boxers, or briefs depending on the day, on. It didn't seem fair at all that while she was very, very pleased Megamind didn't seem to be wanting any of it in return.

Was he still shy about their physical differences? She knew he had no nipples, or belly button for that matter (which was very strange the first time she saw him without a shirt) and it didn't bother her anymore, or at all to be honest. She had seen, well, _something_ down there as he had been laid out on the hospital bed, but she hadn't seen it since. She certainly never felt something when she would wrap her legs around him, nor when he would be pressing against her body. It was like being with a woman, a very flat-chested woman who showed no signs of excitement.

Was she doing it wrong? She had never left men unsatisfied before, but then again he didn't give her the feeling that she was leaving him unsatisfied either. He seemed always so happy, to touch her, hold her, kiss her and just be in her general vicinity after such things. Yet he never 'got any' in return. Was she giving him blue balls? The sudden question almost made her laugh, what with his skin color but the seriousness of it stopped her.

"That's it." she said to herself as she stood up with a defiant expression plastered on her face. "Tonight, I'm treating him. I'm gonna rock his world."

In the end she texted him, telling him to come to her apartment around seven because the movie she had chosen was starting at seven thirty and it was in walking distance. That meant he would come up expecting to go out, only he wouldn't be going anywhere at all but Heaven on Earth beneath her touch. She almost felt a little wicked telling a white lie to her boyfriend, but she wanted this to be special for him, so surprise him.

Roxanne then proceeded to spend a good half an hour going through her more nice, celebratory, underwear until she found the red lingerie that had a fluffy black trim at its hem and a small red bow where the under wire bra met. It had some helpful padding, so when she put it on her breasts looked a lot perkier, and bigger, then normal. Not that he had ever complained about the size of her chest, she just wanted to entice things a little more.

Matching black underwear was added for effect, as was a garter belt and some nice red stockings to match the material. She was soon sat in front of her bedroom mirror, brushing her hair out before applying her make up. Megamind hadn't really seen her really dolled up, so that would be a surprise for him too. She sat back and observed herself in her blush, eye make up and red lipstick.

"God I look like an extra on Moulin Rogue..." she muttered, touching her hair but then smiled and stood up, and looked herself over. Roxanne wrapped her arms around herself in a self-conscious way, but then lowered her lids and practiced her bedroom eyes. "Mmmn." Roxanne then purred, before laughing and shook her head in a bemused kind of way.

The night would no doubt prove most interesting.

~*~

"Now you two behave yourself. Remember the last time you two went to see a movie you were thrown out for indecent activities." Minion said as he stood at the door as Megamind tugged on his boots. It was fairly cold out, with winter fast approaching, so he was wearing thicker jeans, a long sleeved shirt and a hoodie that had been made by Minion so it covered his head easily.

"That usher was totally out of line." Megamind said as he got up and checked himself in the mirror.

"You were in Miss Ritchi's lap with your hand up her top!" Minion gasped.

"...totally out of line." replied Megamind with a shrug before turning to Minion. "You sure you don't want to come?" he asked.

"Oh yes." Minion nodded his fish body. "There's a Lost marathon on tonight and I want to re-watch some."

"You can just watch our DVD's..." Megamind said.

"Well yes but that way I'd have no breaks in which to get food or go to the restroom! You know me Sir. I need commercials." the fish pointed out.

"..right, right. Have fun Minion."

"You too, Sir!"

Now he had said to go up to her apartment to collect her, so that's just what he did. He climbed the stairs and approached her apartment door but stopped short before he got too close. Her door was slightly ajar, and he found this peculiar. She never did that before. "Roxanne?" he called nervously, coming to the door and nudged it open with his elbow. "Roxanne?" he called again.

"I'm in the bedroom!" she called out.

"Why are the lights off?" he asked, coming into the apartment and shutting the door behind him, it locking with a soft click with the dead bolt. "Is there a power cut again?"

"Mmmm, no." she answered him, and then he felt silly for asking such a thing since he could see a soft glow coming from her bedroom door.

Megamind approached the door, and put his hand to the door since it too, like the apartment door, had been slightly ajar. "Are you decent?" he asked.

"Decent enough, now get in here." her reply surprised him.

He opened the door and glanced around her room before he saw her and when he did it felt like his hearts were about to explode out of his chest. Roxanne was laid out on the bed, both arms up above her head and her legs brought up slightly, showing off the curves of her body that were now on full display due to her clothing. The red mesh material was very see through, and the stockings tugged tightly against her smooth legs.

He stood in the door way awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

"Are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to come over here?" Roxanne asked, tilting her head and smiling at him with those luscious red lips of hers. "Because it's _very_ cold over here, and I'd like to be warmed up..."

Megamind slowly pulled his hoodie off and let it drop to the ground as he walked to the bed. "What..." he started, voice small and shocked, "What brought... this on...?" he asked.

"A truth I realized." she said as she sat up, tossing her hair as she did. "You've come such a long way in such a short amount of time, you know? You learn fast. And you're getting so... hm. _Talented_ with your fingers it's amazing but..." Roxanne reached out and hooked two of her fingers at the neck of his shirt, tugging him down slightly. "...but you still haven't let me see you. The whole you." she pointedly looked down at his crotch, then back to his face. "Understand me?"

"...o-oh... I.. Yes. I understand you." he whispered back, face slowly turning purple.

"So..." Roxanne brought her hands to his face, thumb stroking the little goatee, which had grown back over the course of a week. "I want to. I want to make you feel good tonight, I want you to feel as wonderful as you've made me feel. That's what it's about, being in a relationship. To make each other happy, and I don't want to be on the receiving end forever."

Megamind laughed shakily, but then yelped since she had yanked him off his feet and onto her bed, and was already on top of him, those gorgeous legs of hers pinning him beneath her. "Ahh-ahh!" he startled a cry, looking up at her. "I-I didn't mean to m-make you feel like- ahh!" Roxanne had leaned in and was nibbling at his ear lobe, which made the toes in his shoes curl instinctively.

"No, you don't understand. It has to be fair." she breathed against his skin, as her hands found the bottom of his shirt. "Please... let me touch you..." Roxanne was begging him now, gently and breathily against his ear.

Megamind had, naturally, been a little scared at the prospect of allowing Roxanne to see, or experience, his body. He had only experienced what lay between his legs a few times in his life. But it was so... well. Alien from what he knew what human male sex organs looked like it had genuinely frightened him. All those tiny bits and the bumps and how it opened and-

"I don't..." he started shakily, and she paused, waiting for him to continue. "I just... it's.. it's different, and-"

"I know. I saw it." Roxanne said gently.

"_What!_" he asked, face blushing brilliantly purple. "_When?_"

"In the hospital," she explained gently, stroking the side of his head gently to help calm him. "When Minion had to merge with you he had to roll up your hospital gown. I saw it there. It doesn't look-" she was interrupted.

"That's it when it's exposed but dormant. It changes again when it... when it's excited." he said feebly as he gently moved her hand from his head.

"So do human ones, Megamind." Roxanne said pointedly.

"No, I know about how the men of this planet work and what they look like. I had to attend sexual education too you know. But mine just... just doesn't become erect. Mine moves. A lot. And.. and... it has lumps and.. and..." she pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him.

"Megamind. I care about you so, _so_ much. I need to see you. I need to touch you. There is no room for arguments about this." Roxanne whispered. "Now just lay back, and let me undress you this time."

"...okay." he squeaked, knowing better than to challenge her when she had her mind set on something, even if it was something he himself wasn't sure on.

So she undressed him, tugging the t-shirt up and over his head (designed by Minion to have a very stretchable neck) before undoing his boots and depositing them on the floor. She had scooted down to the end of the bed and now reached for his zipper and slowly undid it, and just like any other time, it felt like he had nothing there. "Is it internal, mostly...?" she asked as she tugged his jeans down his skinny legs, eyes on his face to make sure she wasn't completely enthralled by what lay between his legs.

"Mm." Megamind nodded. "It, it always is, really..."

"That's amazing." she smiled up at him, and soon he was laying there in just his boxers and nothing else. Roxanne looked at him, watching his face. Megamind still looked apprehensive and shy, almost like he did on their first night together where they had kissed and touched one another for their first time. She touched his stomach, and could feel how warm he felt from the nerves, and maybe possibly from the excitement. She hoped it was the latter more so then the other. "Okay... I'm taking these off." Roxanne told him, making sure he knew what her intentions were so he wouldn't freak out on her.

He nodded and seemed to hold his breath as she took hold of his boxers and slipped them down.

It was as he had told her, it was very internal at first. His lower half was very smooth, and if you were just glancing at it you would assume he was built like a Ken doll. But, as she looked at his exposed and bare body, she noticed where the muscles had pressed tightly against one another. Smiling, despite herself, Roxanne reached out and trailed her fingers along where the opening would be if it would open for her. This dragged a shuddering gasp from the alien, his stomach muscles visibly clenching. Good, he _was_ sensitive down here.

Roxanne curled herself at the foot of the bed comfortably, and she stroked at his body again before feeling a flare of bravery and leaned in and pressed her lips to the muscles. Megamind gave another strained sound and she held the soft kiss before she felt the muscles beneath her mouth suddenly move. Moving her head back she watched as the skin began to slowly fold back, exposing himself just as slowly. At first, yes it did resemble a human mans. It snaked out of a deep blue, fleshy mass, and she was amused to find that it was a deep purple color, the same tone of color that was now flushing and spreading over not just Megamind's face but his chest and arms.

But as it continued to slide out of his body she saw the differences quickly enough. For one it didn't have a head like a human penis at all. Instead, it had small lumps that gave off a soft purple collared glow, travelled along its length in four lines. This brought her the mental image of Minion, who had glowing orbs travelling along the top of his head with his fins. They were all giving off gentle, soft lights and she wondered what would happen if she touched one, would it glow brighter? Just as she was about to find this out the very last part of his sex exposed itself and it made her jump in mild surprise.

Tentacles.

These she hadn't seen at the hospital, which meant they must have been still tucked away inside his body at that time. They were moving of their own free will, shivering in the air and wriggling in a way that reminded her of something she'd seen in an ocean documentary. They were a color between blue and purple, and like the lumps along Megamind's shaft they glowed beautifully. She attentively reached out to touch one, and was amazed to feel that it felt very tingly. At feeling her finger it automatically latched onto her offered finger, and shivered against her like it was freezing and needed her warmth. This seemed to alert those closest to her since three more did the exact same thing, reaching for her fingers.

They were only short too, they wouldn't even be six centimetres in length, and were the width of barely half a centimetre.

"...it's amazing." she finally breathed, realizing she had fallen incredibly silent. "It... it glows?" Roxanne asked, looking up at Megamind and saw that he wasn't even looking at her.

His face was screwed up, as if bracing for pain, and looking away from her.

"Megamind?" she asked, reaching up with a free hand to feel his chest. "What is it? Am I hurting you?" Roxanne dearly hoped she wasn't. She hadn't even started anything yet.

"...no." he replied shakily, opening his eyes and staring at the wall with great concentration as if it was a piece of art in a museum.

"What is it?" she asked as she gently moved her fingers, more of the tiny tentacles seemingly attracted to her body warmth since they seemed to know where to stretch in order to try and snatch at her fingers again.

"I don't like it." he whispered.

"You don't... what I'm doing?" Roxanne asked, pulling her hand away and once she did the tiny tentacles went back to their crazed wriggling in various directions, some wrapping around the one closest to them for a second before letting go.

"N-no, not that..." Megamind said as he opened his eyes and looked at her, her face illuminated by the natural glow of his body. "I. I don't like... that." he quickly looked at himself before looking back at her face. "It's so different. It's_too_ different. It's always... scared me, a little. I've barely even touched it and.. and.."

"But then how do you... uh. Use a rest room?" Roxanne asked, confused.

"It doesn't come out of there." Megamind said, "So I... never really see it. Only a few times... that's all..." he trailed off as he curled onto his side now, trying to will his body back into hiding. "It's fine, you don't have to do this, I know it's not like-"

"No, no. Don't. Please." Roxanne reached for his hips and gently held him still, "Megamind. I want to touch you. Now, you tell me if you really, really don't want me to. But then that's hardly fair to you. You've made me feel amazing so many times, but I've never returned the favor. I don't want to be a taker. I want to be a giver, too. Okay?" she asked gently, reaching up and brushed his cheek with her hand as a few of the tiny tentacles latched onto her lingerie and tugged at the material but finding the material strange they let go quickly.

Seemed they only liked touching organic things. Things with flesh, warmth, and blood flow.

Megamind took a shuddering breath, and shut his eyes again. It wasn't fair, he knew... he loved making her happy, to feel her warmth and the pleasure in her body as he touched her in the right ways. Yet he always shied away from her hands, whenever they would purposely move down his front in an attempt to fondle what wasn't there. It took so much strength to not unsheathe himself but he didn't know how she'd respond to suddenly seeing the crotch of his pants or boxes suddenly glow blue and purple.

"O-okay." he finally replied. "Okay. I'm sorry. You're right. I'm ready..."

Roxanne smiled at him, before delicately taking the purple shaft into her hands. The glowing lumps seemed to respond to her touch since she felt some of them actually press themselves against her hand in response. This surprised her, since she hadn't anticipated it. They too, like the tentacles, gave off slight buzzing feelings as if they had been plugged into something and was now fully charged. It brought back memories of certain toys she bought from certain stores in her single days, and it made her face blush brilliantly at the realization that this, in her hand, was a very, very good thing to have.

"Oh uh... just one question...?" she asked as she stroked the shaft, trying to ignore the tiny tentacles that pressed against her fingers as best they could from their position rooted at the base of the shaft.

"Uhh...?" Megamind asked dazedly, senses standing on end at being touched down there for the first time by anyone.

"Do you... uh... project anything?" she asked nervously.

"...what?" he asked, not understanding.

"Well. You know how men work, right? How when... at the end they..." she gestured with her hands.

He stared at her blankly, before it seemed he understood what she meant since his face turned a deeper purple, and he chewed at his bottom lip. "Uh... n-no... no we don't... I know that much..." while his sex had indeed scared him as a teenager that didn't stop him from, at least once, toying with himself but the result was nothing like what he had learned in that sexual education class and that only further disturbed him about how different he was. There was no hardening, no swelling, and definitely no ejaculation after playing with himself. He had gone at it so long his wrist had begun to hurt. Since then he hadn't unsheathed it ever again.

Roxanne wondered then, just how his species reproduced. But on the other hand, if he didn't ejaculate that meant she wouldn't have to worry about swallowing anything. Thinking back to how many times she had almost choked when some men had thoroughly enjoyed their stay in her mouth, this was quite refreshing. No more would there be semen flying into her eyes, or splattering in her hair or across her chest. "Oh... well. Good." she said, smiling.

"Why is that-ooOOOOAAHHGOD!" his eyes widened and his head was thrown back at the sudden sensation of Roxanne's tongue coming into contact with his skin. His hands gripped down against the bed as his hips, unable to control themselves, bucked as her tongue slid along the underside of his shaft a second time. She could feel, as her tongue ran over them, those faintly glowing lumps pressing back against her as well as lighting up a little bit brother. God, this was going to be fantastic, she could tell. The way his sex was actually flexing against her tongue and lips was already exciting her and they had barely even begun.

Megamind had screwed his eyes up again, and his mouth fell open as he made another deep, needy moan as he felt her lips slowly close over the tip and then slowly press further along his shaft. The small tentacles at the base were standing on end, seemingly electrified by what the rest of the organ was feeling and once they could, they pressed excitedly against Roxanne's lips.

She shivered as the little tips buzzed on her upper, and lower lip, and some were even attempting to wriggle into the space between her lips and what else took up the room in her mouth. Roxanne opened her mouth and slowly withdrew, before returning but lapping at the top half now, focusing on that whilst one of her hands shifted down her body to tug her underwear down. What she had in store wouldn't work well if she was still wearing those things. Her blue, beautiful, eyes were on Megamind's sex, the part that wasn't in her mouth. The tentacles still stood on end, desperate to touch her warm lips.

"God, the fact it glows..." she mumbled before she sucked against a few of the tentacles, feeling them wiggle between her lips before letting them go. "I sometimes forget you're not... hmm." Roxanne looked up at him, and this time he was looking back at her, smiling in a shaky, yet still affectionate way.

"..not human?" he asked quietly.

Roxanne smiled before slowly climbing up so she was now on top of him, and pressed herself against his chest and nosed against his cheek a moment. "Humans are boring anyway." she whispered.

"You're not boring..." Megamind mumbled before she kissed him softly at first, but it escalated rapidly, as her tongue fought its way past his lips and into his mouth. His thin arms wrapped desperately around her clothed back, and he felt the soft material of her lingerie catching between the two. He broke the kiss and leaned back slightly, to take a good long look at her. "...how long have you owned...?"

"Now a girl has to keep some things secret, doesn't she?" she asked, then blinked in surprise when she realized he was actually trying to unhook her bra. "Oh, aren't we daring tonight...?" Roxanne smiled, since this was also a first for them. Normally she undid her bra and tossed it aside, never before had he attempted it.

"I can do it." Megamind's tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth as he fumbled with the hooks, narrowing his eyes in concentration. While it looked simple enough when she would unsnap a bra and toss it aside, doing it himself, without being able to see, turned out to be harder than he thought. After a moment he dropped his hands down to her hips and stared up at her. "...okay maybe I can't."

"You'll get there some day." Roxanne smiled before doing the job for him and lifted the thin lingerie up and off of her, and tossed it aside. Now, all she had on was her stockings and nothing else. Somehow, Megamind had not picked up on this until now. He took a sudden breath of surprise, before she was upon him again, kissing him deeply and her breasts pressed against his bare chest. "Mmmgghhh..." he moaned deftly.

Roxanne moaned hungrily into his mouth as she felt his sex pressing against her inner thigh but it didn't appear to be getting erect at all. It was as Megamind said, there were great differences. It almost felt... what... snake like? It had obvious strength and muscles in it, she had felt them as she had gripped it in her hands, but not enough in its circulatory system to have it harden like a human penis. This might be trickier than she thought. Thinking fast, Roxanne broke the kiss and pressed her hand to his chest and pushed him down so he was flat on the bed before getting up onto her knees.

"Roxanne..." Megamind breathed shakily as she gripped the tip of his sex and it glowed especially bright as she did so. It was only when she began lowering herself down did he realize this was it, that they were about to do _it_ and it both amazed and terrified him. His chest rose and fell quickly with each shuddering breath, and just as her body pressed against the end of his it seemed to awaken it in a way simple touching and her mouth hadn't. While it didn't become hard, or erect, it certainly began to suddenly straighten out and push up, and into her.

She threw her head back and moaned loudly as she felt the organ push its way into her. The lumps seemed to swell even more on contact with her moist, prepared body, combined with her spit that she had left behind after licking it. Roxanne's hands gripped at his thin sides as her hips bucked down, forcing herself down onto him again. His body retaliated, his hips bucking upwards to meet her, his sex swelling and probing deeper into her body, as deep as its length could afford. Just as she found herself settled on him, her chest raising and falling from the effort, she let out a hungry, throaty moan.

Those little tentacles were working hard, it seemed. Not content to simply press against her flesh, they were exploring. Their buzzing, tiny bodies probed against her skin. They pressed between the folds of her labia, dipping in close to her body, wetting themselves on her excitement before wriggling even more. And those that had been positioned towards the top, front part of Megamind's sex had latched onto her clitoris as well as the hood of it. They vibrated delicately, tugging and prodding. Roxanne had never experienced anything like it, it was like everything was moving inside her unlike anything had done before.

Her eyes opened and she panted breathily as she looked down at her boyfriend, whose eyes were wide in shock. He, like her, had never experienced anything like this. Her body was wet, close, and it was so hot it felt like he could burst into flames. The inner muscles of her body clenched against his sex and every time one of those glowing lumps was flexed upon it unleashed a shock of pleasure he had certainly never felt when playing by himself. Maybe it didn't work when you were alone... maybe his reproductive organ was so highly tuned it only reacted when stimulated by another sexual organ? Megamind would no doubt think on this in the morning, but right now all he could concentrate on was how amazing this felt.

"Oh, oh... OH!" Roxanne threw her head back as she lifted herself a little, only to find the sex was far more moveable than an ordinary penis. It actually followed after her, as if it had a mind of its own, and all that mind wanted was to be in her and it wasn't ready to leave her yet. She bucked again, and began to slowly ride him, her pert breasts beginning to bounce with every thrust and push of her body.

Megamind's hands gripped at her hips at first, his feet feebly digging their heels into the bed, stretched at first. But as Roxanne began to set a slowly growing pace, he brought his legs up. Soon he could feel the curve of her shapely behind pressing against his upper thighs, and the warmth of her body spreading over his own. His hips, which had been moving of their own accord at first finally fell back under his control. He groaned as he bucked up into her in time, just when she was pushing herself back onto him. This brought truly enchanting sounds from her perfect lips, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from her face.

She looked amazing. Her hair fell into her eyes now and then, and that brilliant blush over her cheeks and nose only highlighted those freckles he loved so much even more. He brought a hand up, and gripped at one of her breasts, thumb instantly working over the hardened nipple since he knew by now that it was something she thoroughly enjoyed. It worked, for Roxanne moaned louder still, breathing and gasping his name; both of them. Their bodies continued to move against one another, finally moving as one, and hands continued to clutch and grip at one another.

Their mouths found one another at some point, Roxanne having to bend over and Megamind also having to sit up more in order to do so. The kiss was hardly refined, it was fairly sloppy and open mouthed, both of them gasping for breath as desperately as the other. Megamind's mouth found its way to her neck and he sucked at it, as she continued to moan his name somewhere into the top of his head. He couldn't recollect or remember where. But his mouth soon found her nipple and he sucked at it desperately, his hands digging into both her hip and her upper back as she held onto him just as tightly.

"O-oh god, oh GOD I'm... I'm..." she tried to speak, but her words were continually being ripped from her by the desire to breath. Roxanne felt her whole body tingle, electrified by the pulsating alien appendage that was still thrusting within her, pressing all the right buttons. "I'm coming... I'm coming...!" Roxanne gasped finally, "OH god Megamind...!"

Coming. Coming. Megamind knew he had heard that word before but what did it mean. His brain was blank. The dictionary was unaccusable. It sounded like a good thing, so he sucked harder still at her exposed breast. Her whole body seemed to be shaking, from her hands all the way down to her toes. She suddenly seemed to seize up, and her spine arched and she pulled her head back and let off a high, elevated noise that startled him. His body seemed to respond positively to this, since the probing tentacles and glowing lumps vibrated even quicker, dragging out a wondrous sensation only they seemed capable of experiencing on such a personal level.

Roxanne fell against him, her skin slick with perspiration and marked by finger marks, as well as flushed red from the activity. She kissed him, for his mouth was now free, before kissing her way along his cheek, to his neck, then back to his ear and forehead. "Oh God, God God..." she kept repeating as Megamind held her close, the sex between his legs now slowly beginning to retreat back into his body, its job done.

"I love you." she whispered, yet it sounded like a roar.

Megamind's green eyes opened, hazy and unfocused from lust and exertion, but they still looked surprised, and alarmed. This... what she had just said, she had never said before. Even he hadn't admitted to loving her, not wanting to say it too soon and scare her away. But they had been going out well over a month now. They saw each other every day. There were movie nights, video game nights, bike rides, visits to the library and museum and they just... being with her had opened so much to him. The world, which had once felt like a dark, cruel place, no longer felt that way. It was warm, welcoming, and exciting.

She was his new beacon for the world. Roxanne Ritchi represented every aspect that was good. The enjoyment, comfort, normality, her eyes reflected a beautiful day in July and her hair brought on memories of Autumn, watching the leaves change the color. The red color she adored brought on memories of Spring and when she would go bike riding she was like a Winter breeze, impossible to catch but beautiful to behold. He absolutely adored her.

"I love you.. Roxanne..." Megamind replied after what felt like a small decade to the woman who simply held onto him tightly, almost afraid she had said the wrong thing. But hearing him confirm what she thought was true, as well as her name, brought tears to her eyes that she hadn't known to be brewing at all.

Roxanne laughed, despite the tears, and kissed him again. "I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you...!" Roxanne repeated, burying her face into his neck. "I love you, Megamind..."

He too was crying. Just exactly why he didn't know. But he could feel the liquid running down his cheeks and splashing on the pillow beneath him, and he could feel her own mixing against his blue skin. What a pair they were. He gave a shaky laugh, and ran a hand through her hair, and he kissed at her ear, then her temple.

"Love you so much... so much..." he whispered in the fading light.

"Mmnnh...' Roxanne shivered against him, and only just now realized that his sex had left her body. It, surprisingly, didn't worry or upset her. Instead she shifted her weight so she wasn't smothering his small, thin body with her curvy one, and lay besides him. Yet still despite the move, neither of them removed their arms from one another. She found his lips again, in the darkness, and kissed him softly, gently, lovingly.

And he returned it in earnest.

"...you were amazing." she whispered only after they had finished, her hand stroking across the back of his baldhead. "Really. You... your body..." Roxanne trailed, allowing a hand to run down his chest to his stomach and gently caressed it. "I do believe you'd be any woman's ideal man. ...and probably a few men's ideal man too." no other man had made her reach orgasm their first time together, ever. And that even included Wayne. For being such a large, impressive standing man he wasn't _that_ great. Not that she'd ever admit to Megamind this fact, though she might let slip he had a small penis later down the track once they were more sexually comfortable with one another and that they could actually laugh about it.

"Think so?" Megamind asked dryly, with a small chuckle.

"You have _no_ idea." Roxanne grinned.

Megamind laughed, before gently caressing one of her breasts. This was slowly becoming one of his more favourite parts of her body to play with, since it always brought a blush to her face, and a breathy gasp from her lips. As he guessed, both of these things happened.

"Nnnhh..." she sighed. "Feeling frisky again, already?" she asked.

He glanced at her, before honestly shaking his head. Maybe, once after a few more thrills like this, they might try for twice in a night. Right now, however, he just wanted to hold her, and touch her. "Just want to touch you." he admitted feebly.

She smiled, and kissed at his forehead. "Touch all you want." Roxanne whispered to his temple. And he did. Megamind actually positioned himself a little further down, and took the nipple he wasn't currently playing with into his mouth and simply held it there at first. Roxanne gasped gently, then let out a slow sigh as he began to gently suck while his two arms simply wrapped around her lower back. "Hmmmm..." she sighed, and allowed her eyes to slip shut and allowed her boyfriend to do as he please.

Surprisingly, she fell asleep little under a half hour later and Megamind had been well and truly ahead of her. There they slept, wrapped in each other's arms on her bed, and neither of them moved until morning.


	21. Chapter 21

Minion watched as his friend entered the apartment, and he raised his eyebrows as he watched the blue alien make his way over to the fridge and opened the door and stared at the contents.

"...Sir?" Minion asked, after a moment.

"Hm?" Megamind asked, still looking at the contents of his fridge.

"You didn't come home last night... and it's well past three pm." the fish, of course, had been worried at the fact his friend hadn't even made a phone call about being indisposed. Yet he respected what he and Miss Ritchi had, and had done the right thing and not bother them. "Did something happen?" he asked.

Megamind finally turned his head to look at his friend, and a small little smile crossed his face. "Well... I guess you could say that."

Minion walked closer to him, sizing him up with every step he took. "Did..." the fish started, before his eyes widened. "Did you and..." he looked absolutely surprised, despite having learned nothing yet. "Did you sleep with Miss Ritchi, Sir?"

The blue alien's cheeks turned a brilliant purple, as did his nose. Honestly, how could he hide anything from his friend? He was so readable, it was impossible to lie or avoid the truth. "Yes. I did."

He watched his friend stand there, the robot body barely moving yet the little fish within seemed to be shivering. Minion suddenly exploded with a cry of absolute delight, hands clapping together. "OH Sir! Oh Sir!" he gasped, before rushing forward and threw his arms around the alien, pulling him in for a hug and spun on the spot. "Congratulations Sir, you big slut you!"

"MINION!" Megamind squeaked, the robot arms were strong against his little body, but then saw the humor in it all. Him, a slut? He was thirty and had just now finally slept with a woman. It was ironic, and hilarious. He laughed, and managed to squeeze an arm out of the embrace and wrapped it around the robots shoulders. "Oh Minion it was fantastic...!" he gushed, as Minion finally stopped spinning and set him down on the floor. "She was amazing!"

"Details, Sir. Details!" the fish squeaked, clapping his hands again. "We've waited for this day since you were thirteen after all."

And thus Megamind spun the tale to his friend, to some this might be considered incredibly wrong or twisted. Megamind and Minion never kept secrets from each other. Minion knew about everything about Megamind, he was like a living personal diary. The blue alien told him of his dreams, his desires, and his deepest wants. So far, Roxanne had answered many of these things. But to know that his friend had finally found the woman who accepted him despite his differences and appearance, it was like a dream come true for the fish.

Course, Minion would never admit to Roxanne that Megamind had told him about what she wore, how she felt, or what it was like to make love to her. The fish, of course, would never know what it was like to truly be with a woman. Hearing about it from his friend was the closest he would ever get. But that was close enough.

"It's simply wonderful, Sir." Minion smiled once it was all done, "You have no idea how glad I am for you. So... what do you think?"

"Think?" Megamind asked.

"About... well. Possibly... a future, with Ms. Ritchi? You two have been together a few months and you certainly hit it off brilliantly." Minion said, "I know it's early times yet, but could you two possibly have a life together?"

Megamind went quiet, and looked down at his hands. "I don't know. I'd like to think so." he whispered. "Like you said, it's still early, right?"

The fish nodded. "Yes. But it doesn't hurt to hope. To dream."

Sighing slowly, Megamind tilted his head and supported it on his hand as he leaned on the table. "...to own a home together... live in the middle of the country, away from the city. I'm sick of living in the city. I want space. We'd have a garden, maybe! A whole room for my collectibles, and we'd have her dirt bike in the drive way. And my own, too... at least by then I hope I could be able to ride one."

"And maybe children?" Minion asked.

Megamind went quiet, and for some reason his hand moved to his stomach. He didn't know why. "...I don't know... I don't.. I don't think it's possible. Our genetics are too different. It'd be impossible. Besides, that is _too_ advanced thinking, even for dreams."

"Just because our upbringing wasn't all sunshine and roses Sir, doesn't mean your children would have a bad one as well." Minion whispered.

"Minion." Megamind warned quietly.

"Sorry, Sir." the fish whispered, knowing he had pressed too much, far too soon.

They sat in silence for a while, before Megamind whispered quietly. "I'd like to have a daughter, one day. I'd dress her up, all pretty. She'd be my princess and I'd keep her safe from everyone who would want to hurt her. And her name would be Leia."

Minion giggled to himself.

"Wonderful, Sir."

"But yes." he said louder, sitting up straighter in his seat. "Roxanne... I want her in my life. As long as she'd have me."

"I can't see why she wouldn't, Sir." Minion smiled. "You take good care of her, you love her, and you make her happy. Plus you're incredibly handsome and a genius on top of that. I can't see why she wouldn't want you in her life. I know mine is better with you in it."

"You always know what to say." Megamind smiled.

~*~

"No!" Roxanne hissed, physically pushing at Bernard. "I am NOT giving you details!"

"Come on." Bernard said, barely bothered by being pushed away by the woman. "You're meant to tell me these things."

"I am not!" she gasped, "I am not telling you anything about him like that! Steve doesn't go telling me about what you're like in bed!"

"I wouldn't care if he did. I'd be very proud if my boyfriend boasted about me in bed. Just like Megamind would be if you told me he was the greatest lay you ever had." Bernard replied simply, and as usual his phrase was spoken so dry, so without enthusiasm those who didn't know him would swear he was being sarcastic 24/7.

Roxanne's cheeks flushed and she glanced around the lunch room, but nobody was within hearing range. Sighing, she moved in closer and whispered into his ear. She really had no choice because she knew Bernard far too well now, and when he wanted to know something he would keep prodding and asking the same question over and over again... normally at totally inappropriate moments too. Bernard nodded, listening, and his eyes slowly got bigger as she continued to whisper. He pulled away, looking honestly surprised once she was done.

"You're kidding me."

"No." she said, sitting back. "I'm not."

"You're ruined. You'll never go back to normal dick again." Bernard replied.

"...no, I don't think I will." Roxanne suddenly laughed, before covering her hand with her mouth to silence herself since those around her looked at her oddly.

"Well. Congratulations." Bernard reached out and took her hand into his, and shook it as if she had just won an award or something. "You had the greatest sex possible."

"Ha..." she brushed some hair behind her ear. "So... how is Steve in bed?"

Bernard raised an eyebrow, before leaning in and began whispered in her ear.

Roxanne's face turned brilliant red, and she placed her hand over her mouth as her eyes, like his own had, gradually grew in size. She suddenly pulled back, Bernard in mid-sentence, and gave him a look like he had just grown another head. "Oh my God."

"You asked." Bernard replied.

"I didn't think you'd be so... so... graphic!" Roxanne gasped.

He simply smiled, and went back to eating.

~*~

Megamind sat up in his bed, hands in his lap. For the past week he had been feeling as if he was missing something, but he couldn't really explain why. It had been a week since he and Roxanne had made love, something that still played through his mind scene for scene, as if watching on a movie. Whilst he wanted to do it again, almost desperately, he wasn't sure if he should have to be the one to 'start' it.

He didn't want to come across as a fiend.

But still. He was feeling empty. Was he missing his virginity? Impossible. It had been a burden, an embarrassing secret that he fought to ignore all his life. So why would he be feeling this way?

It felt like something had been removed. Or, something was meant to be there and yet it wasn't. He lifted his head and stared up at his ceiling of the pillars of creation, forever stuck on his ceiling.

"I don't understand." he mumbled. "I thought I would feel better. I thought I would feel amazing but..." Megamind trailed into silence, before rubbing his arm. "...why do I feel like I've lost something?"

"Sir?"

The alien turned, blinking as he saw Minion standing in the door way. "I heard you up. Why are you awake?" he asked.

"I feel bad." Megamind replied quietly, looking down at his hands. "I don't understand why."

"...Sir, I think I might... uhm. Know why." Minion said, as he slowly walked to his friend.

"Huh? Why?" he sat up straighter, turning to his friend who sat slowly on the bed.

"Well. Um. Sir. I know you'll feel like I've kept this from you but I... I've known some home truths about you, your kind, for a while. I just knew some things, like... like they were implanted. From your mother, I think." it was known between the two of them that Minion wasn't a species, that he was one of a kind. Created by Megamind's mother in order to look over him, to heal him, and protect him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Megamind asked, eyes widening. "Why would you keep these things from me?" he felt a rare flush of anger, and felt his hearts racing.

"Because I never thought it would come into play! Or that, that you would think that you are missing something. I just assumed life would continue as normal." Minion said.

"So why? Why, just. Just tell me." the alien said quietly, the anger still obvious on his face.

Minion sat there, before beginning to explain. "You see. You have to understand... unlike humans, who can protect themselves from impregnation your species had nothing like that. Sex meant babies. Your... um. Parts." the fish glanced down at Megamind's lap before looking back to his face, "They mix with the females, and then the baby is formed."

"U-huh..." Megamind said slowly.

"In the male." Minion added. "And then, the baby is moved from him to the female who births it after."

"And you just knew, all of this, and never told me?" Megamind asked quietly.

"To be honest Sir, I never would have thought I would have to explain this, I mean. Miss Ritchi isn't... well. Of your kind. So maybe, Sir, I'm just guessing here... maybe your body _feels_ that it should be pregnant, but it isn't because your body couldn't accept Miss Ritchi's. So it thinks it should be, but it isn't. That's why you feel... well. Empty."

Megamind sat there, before jolting and shuddering, and wrapping his arms around himself. "You mean I'D be pregnant?" he asked, horrified by the notion.

"Only at first!" Minion said,

"But that's wrong!" Megamind shouted.

"No sir. It's who your people were." snapped back the fish. "Now I know you believe all those around you, the humans, are all what is right in the universe. But it's not! This is just one, single planet. You, us," he reached out and put his hands to his shoulders and gripped gently. "we come from somewhere different. Just because it's different to what we see here and experience, and learn, does NOT make us the wrong ones! We're just as right as they are."

"B-but...' whimpered the blue man quietly.

"No." Minion said firmly. "No buts. It feels wrong but it isn't. It never will be."

Megamind sat there, looking at his glowing friend, then looked down at himself. It was all so much to take in to suddenly realize the beginning of his life had been within his fathers body. To know the man whose final words to him were lost, the man who had whispered to him for hours when he was still a few days old, had been the one to start it all off. If he had a female like his mothers, and they had done what he had with Roxanne a week ago, that would mean he'd have to hand the child to her to grow.

It was very over whelming.

"...anything else you 'know' and you want to tell me?" Megamind asked looking up at the fish.

Minion smiled, and shook his body again for no. "While your mother was kind enough to implant that information, nothing else. I can't even explain how it is I can heal you while nobody else can. Now that, is something I wish she had told me."

"Me too." replied Megamind quietly. "Me too. ...you can let go of me now."

Minion did as requested, and set his hands in his lap.

Megamind thought for a moment, before frowning. "So... I'll feel this way each time Roxanne and I make love?" he asked.

"Probably."

"Well that sucks."

"I know. Um. Will you tell her?"

Megamind shrugged. "Probably."

"Can I be there when you do?" asked Minion, grinning.

Megamind snorted. "Probably best you aren't."

"Aw."

**One Year Later**

The sun was shining in the sky, and birds were singing in the distance. It was one of those perfectly beautiful days, and Megamind couldn't help but feel butterflies at the pit of his stomach. Wearing a suit was never something he was all too fond of, and he couldn't help but lift his hand and tug at the white starched collar before fiddling with his tie. "I hate these things." he muttered.

"Sir please stop fussing." Minion whispered harshly. "You look _fine._"

"I know I look fine." Megamind hissed back quietly, "I look amazing."

"You don't now that you've messed up your tie, what will Miss Ritchi think?" the fish asked, narrowing an eye as he quickly checked his own little black tie that barely passed his chest.

"She'll be fine." Megamind replied quickly.

"U-huh." the fish said, narrowing an eye.

Megamind gave him a good long look before rolling them and looked up at the clear blue sky. It really was a beautiful day, they couldn't have asked for a more perfect one even if they tried. Behind him were rows of seats and every one was taken up by somebody. Women wearing pretty dresses, and men looking awkward but handsome in their suits. Those who had to bring their children were doing their best to keep them quiet, but you could still hear one child making a bored crying noise in the back.

"Why do they insist on bringing babies to these things don't they know they can't be quiet?" Megamind muttered.

"Oh but the little ones look so cute in their little pretty clothes." the fish smiled.

"Until they throw up." pointed out the alien.

"A-hem?" the woman standing to the left of them cleared her throat and Megamind fell silent.

"Sorry." he whispered, before turning and hurrying off. Time really did fly, didn't it? A whole year had passed since he and Roxanne had begun their relationship, and things had only gotten better. They now lived together in Roxanne's apartment together, and Megamind had moved most of his possessions in with them. Minion though, wanting to give his friend some privacy, had kept the flat down below to himself. He tended to it, and yes, he still worked in Metro Cover.

Minion though, had left. From the prompting of Steve, the fish had handed in his resignation and had turned to designing clothing. A lot of his designs were taken on by the theater, for whom he had a strong affliction to for some reason. He worked quickly, efficiently, and his prices were reasonable. He was far happier sewing and stitching all day anyway, and Megamind's old room had been transformed into a sewing room though the posters remained on the walls, as did the Pillars on the ceiling. By now, though, he had even hired on a few young people to help him with keeping up with supply and demand. Especially for the wedding, where he had designed the tuxedos, as well as the brides maids gowns.

He called them his masterpieces.

Meanwhile Megamind had come to used to the slight depression that would sweep over him after he and Roxanne would make love to one another, but it was normally kept at bay by snuggling against her extra close and her hand gently caressing the back of his head.

Megamind paused to wave to Wayne, who was even in the crowd. The tall man waved back, grinning. He had left Metro Cover after the large mess, and now was a police man. The man couldn't be happier, that much was clear. While the two weren't absolutely best friends, there was a certain mutual respect between the two of them. That was something, at least.

"Are we all ready?" asked somebody as a group of suited up men and dressed women gathered around some trees.

"Yes." replied somebody else.

The music started up, and Megamind hummed to himself as he heard the organ start up. Obviously, since they were outside, there were no real organs out here. Instead it was a CD player on a track pre-selected. He watched as the maid of honor and the first man began their walk down the path, and he took a long, shaky breath.

He had practiced this enough time he could still feel the nerves in his stomach. It was like two X-Wings were fighting each other but continued to bump against his poor stomach walls. Megamind prayed he wouldn't throw up, or worse, faint.

He dazedly took note that all those needing to assemble at the front of the ceremony was there, including himself though he had no recollection of moving his feet. Obviously he must have, since he could see Minion in the front row, clapping his hands together in an excited manner.

The strong organ music came up again, this time it was the professional, bridal chorus that everyone knew so well. Heads were turned, and you could hear the gasps of awe and whispers of 'look at them!'

Bernard and Steve walked hand in hand past those collected. Steve wore a white tuxedo, while it was Bernard dressed in the black one. Their ties reflected their suits, but their shirts were the opposite color. The tails of their tuxedos were longer than a usual suit, and it looked incredibly pretty since both had a red flower upon their breast pockets.

Megamind watched them, before glancing across to Roxanne who was stood in line behind Steve's sister Alexis. She, of course, looked gorgeous in a white gown. Strapless, not too low but low enough to be attractive, and a black stitched in belt went from the under wire of her bra to her waist. Fastened to the lower back of it, like all the other bridesmaids who wore the same thing, was a large white bow. Roxanne glanced and spotted her boyfriend out of the corner of her eye and smiled at him. But then she spotted how crooked his tie was and made a scowling face at him.

He shrugged at her as the justice of the peace began to read from her book.

The ceremony was short and sweet, the way Bernard liked it. He stood there before his friends and Steve's family; his own had naturally made a no show. In fact he hadn't even bothered inviting them since what was the point? He was dead to them and he didn't want that drama of them showing up to hurl insults at him, or his fiancé. Today was about him, and the man he loved. Bernard looked out of the corner of his eye as Steve watched the woman talk, before reaching and took his hand into his own and squeezed.

Steve blinked and glanced at him, before smiling.

"And by the power invested in me by the state, I now pronounced you wed. You may kiss your husband."

Bernard turned, but found Steve throw his arms around his shoulders and kissed him. Those gathered erupted into applause, most of the men in the crowd getting to their feet and clapping louder still. Minion was sobbing from within his dome, wishing he could dab at his eyes with a tissue, instead he just clapped loudest of all what with those metal arms. From the back, somebody whistled noisily.

The women in the front row got up, and opened up small bags each had been carrying and as the newly joined couple tried to fight their way through the crowd they tossed the rice at them. No doubt the rice would end up tumbling down collars and getting lodged under shirts but that would be dealt with later. Those bits that ended up on the grass would of course be eaten up by birds once the ceremony was over and the people were gone.

"Like fighting a tide." Bernard muttered to Steve who only laughed, and buried his face into his partners shoulder a moment.

"You're smiling." he whispered.

"I know." replied Bernard. "Alarming, isn't it?"

"You're scaring the children." Steve grinned.

"Good. It builds character."

"There you are!" Roxanne finally latched onto her boyfriend, having fought the tide of people too and easily led him from the front. "God look at your tie you're a mess... did you mess with it despite me telling you not to?" she fiddled with his tie, straightening it up. "Honestly you can program a computer but you can't tie a tie right..."

"Oh just take it off it's all over." Megamind said, reaching up but she snagged his hands.

"No! We have to go have photos taken!" she grinned, "Remember?"

He groaned audibly and rolled his eyes. "Oh man. Photos?"

"Yes, photos. Now come on!" Roxanne gripped his wrist and tugged him off, grinning fit to burst.

And so the rest of the afternoon was spent hanging around the parks, standing under trees, in front of ponds, and smiling until his teeth hurt. Megamind was rarely one to have his photo taken and to know that a group shot, of him included and not being excluded from the group, would be displayed on people's mantels and walls was a very striking thing to consider.

"C'mon people, one last one!" called the wedding photographer as the group bunched together for one last one. "I gotta get to some guy's apartment between now and the reception!"

"Some guy's apartment?" asked Steve, but shook his head as he smiled in that professional dancing way people seemed to get away with, without looking like a prat.

Bernard just smiled.

"It was beautiful, simply beautiful!" Minion gushed as he walked along after Megamind and Roxanne, "Did you see how many compliments they got from their outfits?"

"Minion, we all got so many compliments. You're doing really well for yourself." Roxanne smiled, rubbing the gorilla body's arm tenderly. "I knew you'd be best making clothing rather then sitting stuck up in that cubicle forever."

The fish laughed within his water. "Oh you. But you look gorgeous."

"Of course, I have the best fish dress designer in the city." she grinned.

"You have the ONLY dress designing fish in the city. Or world." Megamind pointed out.

"That's what makes it even more special." she smiled, "Now come on. We have a reception to go celebrate at."

"Can't we stop? My feet are killing me." Megamind whined, dragging his feet.

"No you can't now come on!" Roxanne chastised, wagging a finger at him like a scolding mother.

"Gggahhh..."

Luckily there was a break between the wedding and the reception so once they arrived at the hall it was surprisingly empty. Megamind and Roxanne, along with Minion, found their seats at the long table that was elevated on a platform. "They really went all out didn't they?" Roxanne asked dreamily, looking around at the hall that was full of a black and white motif. "Ebony and ivory."

"Uh oh Sir." Minion grinned as he looked at Roxanne, "I suspect Miss Ritchi might be planning your own wedding in your head."

"What? No!" Roxanne blushed brilliantly as she took her seat. "I'm simply saying what a beautiful choice they made in venues! We're not even engaged, Minion! How can I be thinking about a wedding?"

"U-huh." the fish replied dryly. "As if that'd stop your day dreams."

Megamind smirked, folding his arms and resting them on the table top. Luckily this celebration wasn't going to be too formal, he and Roxanne didn't have to stand outside and greet everyone, nor were they going to have to walk in like a parade and be cheered for simply walking down an isle.

Still, the idea of having a wedding for himself and Roxanne seemed like... a day dream, mostly. Would the city even recognize the marriage of a woman and an alien? He was a citizen but he was still blue. He was still an alien. Maybe, like Steve and Bernard, they would have it outside and private. No religion, just a justice of the peace, and nothing else. Who knows it might be nice.

He glanced across to Roxanne who was talking to the other brides maids, most of them friends and family of Steve. It was alarming to learn that Bernard actually had friends outside of work but sure enough there were some men who he had worked with in other jobs lurking around one table in particular. Megamind spotted Wayne again, who was talking to one of the men who were one of Bernard's friends.

"Check it out." he said, nudging Roxanne, who glanced over to spot Wayne talking with the man.

She laughed. "Oh don't be a gossiper." she grinned.

"It's _fun!_" he insisted.

"Bernard's rubbed off on you." Roxanne smirked, "I knew there'd be a drawback of befriending that guy."

"Speak of the Devil and he shall appear." Bernard's dry tone surprised them and they turned, and there he stood with Steve.

"There you are!" Roxanne grinned, "Oh my gosh it is gorgeous here isn't it?" she asked.

"That's why I picked it." Steve smiled, before moving to take his seat at the center of the table and Bernard sat besides him. "It reflects our mood perfectly."

"Hmmm." Roxanne sighed dreamily as she looked back out over the gathering of people, friends, family, and the general atmosphere of it all.

"Oh dear." Steve smiled, "Is little Roxy getting day dreamy?"

"Oh I am not! Why is everyone saying that?" she laughed, batting at the man's arm playfully. "I am not day dreaming!"

"You so are." Bernard said as he reached for a glass of champagne, "You're almost as readable as Megamind. As they say, some couples begin to act like one another if they've been together long enough."

"So why isn't Steve an unenthusiastic bag of no-fun?" Megamind asked pointedly.

"And you aren't a happy cheery guy?" Roxanne added.

Bernard gave them both a good long glare before suddenly breaking into an impressive, almost beautiful smile. "Oh c'mon now guys I can be _so_ totally happy and cheery if I wanted to be!" he said, enthusiastically, and happy.

Both Roxanne and Megamind went very quiet, the two equally unnerved by this side of Bernard which they hadn't seen before.

"Oh don't be like that," Bernard continued, "you guys wanted to see me like this right?"

"...not really." Megamind said quietly.

"This feels wrong. Like. Feeding a chicken chicken. Or a dog walking on its hind legs wrong." Roxanne added.

"Exactly." Bernard said flatly, expression, posture, and attitude shifting back to normal gears. "Some people are born to be this way. I am one of those lucky bastards."

"And I'm the other lucky bastard who gets through their tough outer exterior to the gooey center on the inside." Steve smiled, before leaning his head against Bernard's shoulder. "And for your information I can be in very, very sour moods at times but I won't subject you to seeing that. You're traumatized enough already."

"Yeah thanks." Minion spoke up, having witnessed all this and had to fight a flight instinct.

The reception continued as expected, speeches were given and most of them were long winded and wordy. Steve's mother spoke about how happy, and proud she was, of her boy finding somebody who loved him just as much if not more so than she did. Of course she added that she would appreciate it if Bernard smiled just that little bit more since he apparently had a 'beautiful smile'. This got a laugh from most, especially those of Bernard's friends on their own table.

Roxanne spoke on behalf of herself and Megamind, about how they were so glad to have become friends with the two men and thanked them for inviting them, as well as allowing them to be a part of the wedding party.

Then Steve thanked everyone for coming, that he and Bernard really appreciated the show of support from everyone, then announced it was food time and once that was over with he expected everyone to get out on the dance floor. And yes, he did mean everyone.

He had said this while looking at his partner, who smirked at him.

Of course, once the food was eaten and extra toasts given, Steve and Bernard had to take the floor and dance together. It was obvious though that they swapped who led a few times through the dance, despite their hand positions unmoving. Bernard was mumbling something to Steve at some point, which only made Steve laugh. Probably something about the choice of music, or about any number of things. Soon the whole dance floor was full of people, Steve's family, his dancing friends, Bernard's friends even got up and danced as a group off to the side of everyone else... and of course amongst it all was a pair of aliens dancing that stuck out like sore thumbs amongst the people.

"It's been a great night hasn't it?" Roxanne asked as she danced with her boyfriend while Minion was meanwhile dancing with Steve's mother.

"Long though." Megamind said as he moved with her.

"Well duh, it's a wedding. I went to my friends once and we were dancing till two in the morning." Roxanne replied,

Megamind blinked, and then frowned an eye. "I don't think I can dance that long."

"You need to dance more anyway, since you do it so well." she smiled.

"You're just saying that because I'm your boyfriend." Megamind said as he spun her gently to the music.

"Maybe. But you're still a good dancer. Steve! Isn't Megamind a great dancer?" she called to the man who was just passing by with his sister in his arms.

"Well he's nowhere near my standard but for a stick thin, blue skinned alien? He dances lovely." Steve smiled. Alexis giggled.

"Gee thanks I feel so much better." Megamind replied sarcastically.

Roxanne laughed, before pulling him in and kissing him. Despite the song not being that of the slow kind, Megamind wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in, kissing her softly. He had come such a long way in just a year. No longer did he hide away in his apartment and shun the rest of the world for the rotten treatment he had received growing up. Now he knew how to ride a bike, he was happy to go out to a mall and go into stores that weren't totally related to his likes and dislikes. He had moved out of his 'cave' and into a lovely apartment with his girlfriend who had made it possible for everything to turn around for him in the first place.

He would never had thought such a drastic change, and it was all thanks to the beautiful woman in his arms.

The alien wondered if there was any other alien alive who felt as welcomed, or loved, as he did at this very moment. He somehow doubted it.

And he kissed her all the more for it.

**The End**


End file.
